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Tonight, because of the construction to widen the I-405 freeway between the west Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley; they are closing the freeway between I-10 and Hwy 101. This 10 mile section of freeway is probably the busiest in the country and has near 500,000 cars running over it's asphalt and concrete every day.
The reason for the closure is so the construction company in charge can knock down part or all of the Mulholland Dr overpass; not sure which. They will be essentially jack hammering the overpass into pieces and carrying away the crumbled concrete and bent rebar in dump trucks.
What does this mean for motorists in LA? Well, it's a total freaking disaster. They will be forced to find other paths from the basin to the valley for the weekend. There is conjecture to whether Sepulveda Blvd over the Sepulveda Pass, which runs right next to the 405 will be open the whole way. Whether or not, it will be open, that street will be the last one you will want to be on simply because that's the one everyone will be looking for as an alternative. Other alternatives include heading up the PCH into Malibu and going over Topanga Canyon, Malibu Canyon, or Kanan Dume Rd. East of the 405, there are nice narrow, windy roads like Beverly Glen, Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon and a few other even narrower and windy-er residential streets that will get you up to Mulholland Dr, then you'd have to find another goat path down the other side. Lastly, you can drive east to downtown to pickup Hwy 101 back west through Hollywood and into the Valley. It's only 25 miles out of the way and through tourist infested parts of town. Sounds like a weekend of fun in your car, doesn't it?
This author and professional driver is, luckily, not scheduled to work during Autopacolypse and is glad of it. The only crowd he'll be in is trying to get a ticket to see Harry Potter's final flick. Maybe work on one of his POS's too. Staying away from freeways altogether sounds like a smart plan for the weekend.
I'm about to head back over that hill, hopefully, for the last time until Tuesday.
As I'm about to sign off here, I just heard a story that this plan was secondary to a cheaper, less problematic plan that included keeping the freeway open during the demolition of the Mulholland Dr overpass. It seems the snotty, selfish, Richy Richs who live up on the hills of Beverly, Bel Air, and Mulholland complained that plan would make their weekend suck for driving their Ferrari's and Lamborghini's at stupid speeds on the ridge running Mulholland Dr, so they called and complained, and our politicians bowed to their demands. Well, I'm betting they won't be any happier with this new plan when 5 million cars are lining Mulholland and the canyon roads trying to get from one place to the other. Let's hope they can't get their over priced Italian toys out the gate of their big gaudy mansions. Justice.
The construction company has until 6 am Monday morning to get the freeway open for the morning commuters or be fined $72,000 hr.
The reason for the closure is so the construction company in charge can knock down part or all of the Mulholland Dr overpass; not sure which. They will be essentially jack hammering the overpass into pieces and carrying away the crumbled concrete and bent rebar in dump trucks.
What does this mean for motorists in LA? Well, it's a total freaking disaster. They will be forced to find other paths from the basin to the valley for the weekend. There is conjecture to whether Sepulveda Blvd over the Sepulveda Pass, which runs right next to the 405 will be open the whole way. Whether or not, it will be open, that street will be the last one you will want to be on simply because that's the one everyone will be looking for as an alternative. Other alternatives include heading up the PCH into Malibu and going over Topanga Canyon, Malibu Canyon, or Kanan Dume Rd. East of the 405, there are nice narrow, windy roads like Beverly Glen, Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon and a few other even narrower and windy-er residential streets that will get you up to Mulholland Dr, then you'd have to find another goat path down the other side. Lastly, you can drive east to downtown to pickup Hwy 101 back west through Hollywood and into the Valley. It's only 25 miles out of the way and through tourist infested parts of town. Sounds like a weekend of fun in your car, doesn't it?
This author and professional driver is, luckily, not scheduled to work during Autopacolypse and is glad of it. The only crowd he'll be in is trying to get a ticket to see Harry Potter's final flick. Maybe work on one of his POS's too. Staying away from freeways altogether sounds like a smart plan for the weekend.
I'm about to head back over that hill, hopefully, for the last time until Tuesday.
As I'm about to sign off here, I just heard a story that this plan was secondary to a cheaper, less problematic plan that included keeping the freeway open during the demolition of the Mulholland Dr overpass. It seems the snotty, selfish, Richy Richs who live up on the hills of Beverly, Bel Air, and Mulholland complained that plan would make their weekend suck for driving their Ferrari's and Lamborghini's at stupid speeds on the ridge running Mulholland Dr, so they called and complained, and our politicians bowed to their demands. Well, I'm betting they won't be any happier with this new plan when 5 million cars are lining Mulholland and the canyon roads trying to get from one place to the other. Let's hope they can't get their over priced Italian toys out the gate of their big gaudy mansions. Justice.
The construction company has until 6 am Monday morning to get the freeway open for the morning commuters or be fined $72,000 hr.
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