By Michele Fuetsch, Staff Reporter This story appears in the Sept. 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Los Angeles is again preparing to shut down 10 miles of Interstate 405, the nation’s busiest freeway.
Known as “Carmageddon II,” the 53-hour closure will take place the weekend of Sept. 29-30 to finish demolishing a bridge over the Sepulveda Pass.
The closure during a weekend in the summer of 2011 drew national attention for what did not happen.
Instead of the massive gridlock feared by transportation planners, surface streets and the freeways that crisscross the city were nearly empty as people heeded advance warnings to stay off the roads.
This time around, city officials are warning residents and visitors not to assume the situation will be the same.
The upcoming demolition work is 30% more complicated and expected to take longer than last year’s, said the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
In a public service announcement being broadcast across Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is asking people to “plan ahead, avoid the area and stay local.”
On the city’s west side, where the north-south I-405 parallels the Pacific Ocean, CalTrans workers will begin closing the ramps to the 10-mile section of the freeway that is within the project area.
The ramp closings are set to start at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27 in both directions between where Interstate 10 and U.S. 101 intersect I-405.
The 10 miles of freeway is scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1.
Last year’s closure and the upcoming rerun are part of the Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, a $1 billion widening that will add a carpool lane to the stretch of I-405 that winds through the pass there.
In order to widen the road through the pass, however, the 608-foot Mulholland Bridge that spans the freeway has to be demolished and rebuilt.
Last year’s closure allowed for only half of the demolition to be completed.
Drivers are being asked to use alternate freeway routes in order to bypass the project area. Maps of the area and additional information on the closure can be accessed online by going to http://www.metro.net/projects/I-405/ and clicking on the link labeled the Mulholland Bridge demolition.
To help persuade residents to ride public transit, the transportation authority is offering riders discounts at restaurants, stores and the city’s attractions.
However, the Los Angeles Dodgers host a three-game baseball series that weekend, which will add to the number of vehicles on the road.
