Several miles of the 405 freeway, between the 101 and the 10, will be shut down for for 53 hours in July (mostly for demolition of the Mulholland Bridge), and the rest of the country is having some of its favorite stereotypes confirmed as Los Angeles officials try to make sure everyone knows (and is worked up about) the potential carmageddon (™ County Supe Zev Yaroslavsky). Yesterday, Mayor Villaraigosa and nearly a dozen others, including city councilmembers, county supervisors, and reps from an alphabet soup of city and county agencies, held a briefing to tell everyone not to, under any circumstances, calm down. Here are the nine most doom and gloom quotes from officials, via the LA Times and Yaroslavsky's website:
LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz: "Avoid the area like the plague?Stay the hell away from the 405 in the middle of July."
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: "Go on vacation."
Metrolink Board Chair Richard Katz: "Since this is Los Angeles, we think this project should probably be renamed 'The Nightmare on the 405'."
Caltrans District 7 Director Michael Miles: It's going to back up probably all the way to San Bernardino County?It's just going to make a mess?You need to stay away.
Villaraigosa: "There's gridlock on the 405 virtually any time of the day, but particularly during the rush hour, and if you think it's bad now, let me just make something absolutely clear: On July 16 and 17, it will be an absolute nightmare."
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: "Stay the heck out of here."
Yaroslavsky: "Not one [shortcut] is going to work."
LA City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl: "They used all the words, there's nothing more left to say?I've got no hyperbole other than, folks, just grab your calendar and put an X on 15, 16 and 17 and don't come to this side of town to get over the hill one way or the other."
Miles: "Barbecue would be good that weekend."
On the bright side, you'll get some free stuff out of the closure: Metro subway rides will be free that weekend and Los Angeles World Airports is trying to get LAX-adjacent hotels to offer deals for people who want to get to the airport a day or two in advance. Metro bus and Metrolink service will be expanded too.
And because this whole thing sounds like no big deal at all, let's do it again in 11 months, when the other side of the bridge is demolished! (Seriously.) [Closure map via The Source]
· Motorists warned about 'nightmare' of 405 closure [LAT]
· ‘Carmaggedon’ or BBQ—it’s up to us [Zev Yaroslavsky]
· World Likely to End When the 405 Shuts Down for a July Weekend [Curbed LA]
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