The Mulholland Bridge over the 405 Freeway will be demolished this weekend and the resulting freeway shutdown (you may know it as Carmageddon?) could go one of two ways--there's the "1984 Olympics" scenario in which everyone's freaked out enough to stay off the road and everything is fine, and then there's the "What do you have to say for yourselves, Westside subway opponents?" scenario, in which you might have to crack open your earthquake kit for provisions or dust off your rollerblades. Here we've collected all the basic information you'll need to know for the weekend:
Wait, what's happening?
They're shutting down the 405 Freeway in both directions for 53 hours-- northbound will be closed from the 10 to the 101; southbound will be closed from the 101 to Getty Center Drive.
Great, I'll just take Sepulveda.
Sepulveda is open to locals only (they're not checking IDs, according to County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavky's website, but c'mon people)
When do I have to get off the road?
405 Freeway ramps close Friday, July 15 starting at 7 pm
Freeway lanes start closing one by one at 10 pm
The 405 and the Mulholland Bridge will be completely shut down by midnight
When can I get back on?
Demo work should end and cleanup should start around 2 am on Monday, July 18
The freeway should open back up at 5 am
Ramps and connectors should be open by 6 am
Anywhere I should avoid parking?
There's no stopping on these streets all weekend:
South side of Ventura Blvd. between Balboa Blvd. and Sherman Oaks Ave.
North side of Ventura Blvd. between Noble Ave. and Sepulveda Blvd.
Both sides of Sepulveda Blvd. between Greenleaf St. and Valley Vista Blvd.
West side of Sepulveda Blvd. between Valley Vista Blvd. and the 405
East side of Sepulveda Blvd. between Moraga Dr. and Ovada Pl.
Can I get a free ride on Metro?
Yep, and there'll be increased service on the Red, Purple, Green, and Orange Lines, as well as on several bus routes
Free rail: Red and Purple Lines
Free bus rapid transit: Orange Line
Free buses: 2, 4, 20, 33, 150, 152, 155, 156, 158, 161, 183, 224, 230, 233, 234, 236, 240, 242, 243, 244, 245, 656, 704, 720, 733, 761
How spectacular will the Mulholland Bridge demolition be?
Not very. Although the project area will be lit up like Christmas, there won't be any explosives involved. Rather, workers will cut the bridge in half with a large, diamond-bladed saw (starting at about 2 am on July 16), then poke away at the concrete with oversized jackhammers.
I like to watch videos of empty freeways.
This website has live video of the 405. Enjoy!
Can I skateboard on the closed freeway or advertise my upcoming Planet of the Apes reboot?
No (Update: apparently you can promote your Planet of the Apes reboot.)
Will there be a sequel?
Oh yes, they're going to have to knock down the other side of the bridge in 11 months
· Our Carmageddon cheat sheet [Zev Yaroslavsky]
· Detailed explanation of how the Mulholland Bridge over 405 will be torn down [The Source]
· Weekend 'no stopping' streets for 405 closure [LAObserved]
· Special Transit Service July 16-17 [Metro]
· Los Angeles [TrafficLand]
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