Almost everyone in LA has stared at the ongoing construction on the 405 and said, "For the love of God, when will this end?" Metro's Source blog provides a much-needed update on the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, which includes upgrades to the freeway that'll culminate with a new northbound carpool lane from West LA to the Valley. We'll give you the bad news first: the project is only two-thirds complete, thanks to construction complications, mostly related to the relocation of utilities, and won't be finished for more than a year and a half at the earliest. There's no indication when the entire project will wrap--The Source only says, "the project's middle section between Montana Avenue and Sunset Boulevard has proven to be the project's greatest challenge ... Consequently, this part of the project is now anticipated to be completed in mid-2014."
"The project team has shifted Sepulveda Boulevard to the east in this area to make room for the widened freeway. Major utilities required relocation -- with extreme street congestion limiting the duration and sequence of needed work. Other mitigations have been needed for sound walls and retaining walls in the area. Nearby homeowners have suffered the brunt of major construction impacts."
Estimated to cost about $1 billion, the project is now over budget by an undisclosed amount. The good news: Wilshire Boulevard has fresh on and off-ramps; Skirball has a new onramp; a new, wider Sunset Bridge is open; improvements to the interchange with the 10 are complete; and there have already been upgrades to Sepulveda. Before the sun sets on 2013, "all bridges and utility work will be nearly complete with project ramps, underpasses, soundwalls and retaining walls."
· Despite challenges, I-405 progress continues [The Source]
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