LADOT issues warning in advance of 405 closure
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The 405 Summer Closure
MTA is warning motorists about a bridge demolition project that will shut down a 10-mile stretch of the 405 Freeway for an entire weekend.
By now, most of you have probably heard about plans to shut down the 405 Freeway at the Sepulveda Pass for 53 hours in July. Here are the nuts and bolts, just to bring you up to speed.
- The 405 Freeway will be closed in both directions for 53 hours, on July 17th and 18th, starting late Friday night/early Saturday morning hours and ending just before rush hour on Monday morning.
- A 10-mile stretch of the 405 will be affected, from Interstate 10 to the 101.
- The closure will allow crews to demolish the south side of the Mulholland Bridge.
Approximately 500,000 cars travel through this area on an average July weekend - relatively light traffic when you consider other times of the year.
"It is manageable if the public cooperates," says Marc Littman, spokesman for LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority who emphasized the importance of advance notice on projects like this.
MTA plans to roll out an ad campaign this weekend leading up to the official media event on the topic on Monday, May 23rd. As we get closer to the summer demolition date, Littman will also ramp up outreach efforts with a basic message: Plan ahead.
"We're encouraging people to stay home if you can," says Littman. "If you have to drive, we'll post recommended alternative routes."
In an effort to help those people who must be on the road - especially emergency vehicles - a team of traffic management consultants is working to recommended alternative routes to prepare for the weekend. The team is made up of the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
No doubt, this freeway work is unprecedented here in car-centric Los Angeles and it could have a far reaching impact on almost every aspect of our transportation system. Connecting freeways, surface streets, and vehicular traffic at Los Angeles International Airport could be affected.
In a couple of years, when the billion dollar project is complete, you'll be able to drive in a continuous carpool lane from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County. We'll also enjoy better access to a safer freeway.
And then we get to do this all over again next summer...
That's right, crews will repeat this process in 2012 when crews close the freeway to demolish the north side of Mulholland Bridge.
-tony arranaga
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