UPDATE 6.2.11 - Click on detail above for a set of maps that illustrate detours for planned closure of a portion of the I-405 July 16-17.
Here is the news release issued today by LAPD, LAFD, CHP, LADOT, Metro and Caltrans:
Countdown to the Closure: Extended 53-Hour Closure of I-405 Freeway Between U.S. 101 and I-10 Planned in Mid-July for Mulholland Bridge Demolition Work
Los Angeles, Calif. – Plan Ahead, Avoid The Area, Or Stay Home. That’s the message public safety officials are sending to the public in anticipation of a planned 10-mile, 53-hour closure of the I-405 freeway between the U.S. 101 and I-10 on the weekend of July 16-17, 2011 for planned demolition work on the Mulholland Bridge, part of a major I-405 improvement project.
The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Metro and Caltrans are informing the public in advance that if they do not have a critical need to be in or near the vicinity of the closure, they are being asked to avoid the area.
The specific freeway closure boundaries are as follows:
- Northbound I-405: 10-mile closure between I-10 and U.S. 101
- Southbound I-405: 4-mile closure between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive Ramps
Motorists who must travel through the Los Angeles metropolitan area are advised to use alternate freeways within the region, including the 5, 15, 23, 55, 57, 101, 118, 126, 210, 605 and 710 freeways to bypass the impacted area. In addition, public transportation options are available such as the Metro Rail service within L.A. County and Metrolink servicing the five county Southern California region. Additional alternate route information will be made available on the project web site at www.metro.net/405.
On Friday, July 15, ramps along the 10 mile closure will begin to be shut down as early as 7 p.m., and closure of freeway lanes will begin at 10 p.m. to ensure full freeway closure by midnight. The closure will continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning, July 18. Ramps and connectors will be reopened by 6 a.m. During this closure, the Mulholland Bridge, I-405 freeway and access ramps will be closed.
Sepulveda Boulevard is intended as an alternate route for local resident access only. Sepulveda Boulevard will not have the capacity to accommodate both local and diverted freeway traffic. Those using Sepulveda Boulevard should expect extreme congestion and lengthy delays. Motorists should instead use alternate regional freeway routes to completely bypass the Sepulveda Pass.
Traffic conditions on local streets and freeways within the region of Los Angeles County and beyond are expected to be severe, with significant, multi-hour delays. Motorists who must travel during this weekend are advised to plan ahead, monitor real-time traffic conditions prior to beginning their trips, and follow alternate routes that are provided. Motorists will be informed of the closure in advance by Caltrans-operated freeway message signs with coverage extending into neighboring counties and other metropolitan regions in the state.
Construction crews for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project plan to demolish half the Mulholland Bridge in the Sepulveda Pass of Los Angeles in order to build a new, widened bridge, and a major carpool lane. The construction activity is part of a $1 billion capacity improvement project for the I-405 freeway.
To reduce the work’s effects on local traffic flow, the Mulholland Bridge demolition and reconstruction will be conducted in two phases. The southern side of the bridge will be demolished first, followed by approximately 11 months of south-side bridge reconstruction. Upon completion of the south side, the northern side of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt in the same manner. Another extended freeway closure period will be required for the second phase of work approximately one year later.
The Mulholland Bridge, like the Sunset and Skirball Center bridges, must be removed and rebuilt to accommodate the widening of the I-405 freeway as part of the 10-mile northbound carpool lane construction project. The project will officially complete the northbound carpool lane network between Orange County and the San Fernando Valley. Additional project benefits include improved freeway safety through standardized lane and shoulder widths, greater ramp capacities at key locations, new sound and retaining walls, widened overpasses, widened and seismically updated bridges and new landscaping within the project corridor.
The $1 billion project is a joint effort between Metro and Caltrans, and is being constructed by Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. It is scheduled for completion in 2013. For latest updates visit the project web site at www.metro.net/405 or follow the project on twitter: twitter.com/I_405 and Facebook at facebook.com/405project.
Categories: I-405 closure July16-17, Projects
Any suggestions on getting to the airport that weekend…..
Jill,
If you’re coming from the San Fernando Valley, consider taking the Red Line from North Hollywood to Union Station and connecting to a Flyaway shuttle — a non-stop bus ride that stops all the LAX terminals.
http://www.lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=292
For more tailored information, you can call 511 for traffic/transit services or go to http://www.go511.com.
Good luck!
Carter Rubin
Contributing Writer, The Source
It is one weekend. I think people are making such a big deal out of nothing. The 10 Freeway was closed after the 1994 earthquake for several months.
Go ride your bike and pass all that traffic.
Any plans for aggressive TDM strategies that weekend such as enhanced 761 service? If your buses are stuck in the same traffic, then there’s no alternative but to sit in traffic (and add to it).
What about a special Sepulveda Pass connector service running from the Orange Line to the 720 imitating future rapid transit service? What about restricting Sepulveda Blvd to only buses and local traffic?
And just like the continued poor planning of METRO – let’s do this in the middle of the summer instead of a less traveled period of time – and after 11 months we’ll do the same thing again in the middle of the next summer – In a region with little rain fall and no freeze we just can’t schedule it during the fall can we? No we can’t thank you METRO – and by the time it’s done will it improve traffic? NOPE – too little too late – and all you here from LA politicians is “we need more people in LA for more tax base” what we need is to remove 1 million people from LA
Well at least this closure and all this other construction trouble is for the purpose of adding a sorely needed mass transit option to a bottlenecked corridor and not just boosting single occupant auto travel… Oh wait…
@LAofAnahiem
Agreed, although making connections from the red or purple lines to go to the westside will still result in buses just getting stuck in the same traffic as all the other cars which does discourage choice riders. We need the expo and purple line extension pronto!!!
Instead of discouraging economic progress, why don’t y’all encourage people to consider using the Metro Red Line over the weekend to get between the Valley and the LA basin during that weekend? Would be nice to see a Metro news agency inform the readers that Metro rail is an option on the weekend to get into Los Angeles from the Valley.