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| The first wave of cars heads southbound around 11:30 a.m. July 17, 2011 on the reopened San Diego (405) Freeway in a cloud of dust as work crews finish demolishing half of the Mulholland Drive bridge 17 hours ahead of schedule. (Gene Blevins/LA Daily News) Carmageddon II, the sequel to last year's weekend-long shutdown of the San Diego (405) Freeway, will take place Sept. 29-30, transportation officials announced Thursday. From Friday night through early Monday morning, the 10-mile stretch between the Santa Monica (10) and Ventura (101) freeways will close to motorists while crews demolish the second half of the Mulholland Drive bridge. Many San Fernando Valley residents had been waiting for the closure dates so they could schedule events. "It's after the Jewish holidays so that's a good thing," said Jill Banks Barad, president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. The high holidays run from Sept. 16-26. The first Carmageddon took place in |
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| The southbound San Diego (405) Freeway at the Ventura (101) Freeway was free of traffic through Encino as construction teams worked on the demolishing the Mulholland Drive bridge over the 405 on July 16, 2011, the first day of what came to be called "Carmageddon." (Gene Blevins/LA Daily News) |
Although county officials feared traffic snarl-ups - hence the name "Carmageddon" - the closure was incident-free, and the freeways re-opened 17 hours ahead of schedule.
The closure is part of the overall $1 billion freeway-widening project, which will add a northbound lane to the 405. It was originally scheduled to be completed in spring 2013.
But construction delays have pushed the overall 405 carpool lane completion date back to December 2013, Metro officials said Thursday.
The project is not currently over budget, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said, but amid some concern about labor and utility costs, Metro is preparing a cost reassessment.
The report will be presented to the board in September.
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