![]() 101.Ĭrews were taking down a portion of the Mulholland Drive Bridge to make room for a wider roadway. Specifically, the 405 was closed between Interstate 10 and U.S. Los Angeles CNN Southern California motorists honked their horns cheerfully as authorities reopened 10 miles of the nation’s busiest highway ahead of schedule late Sunday night. ![]() It also stretches into the well-to-do neighborhoods of west Los Angeles, such as Bel Air and Brentwood. The 405, as it’s locally called, connects suburban San Fernando Valley with Los Angeles International Airport. Officials continued to advocate the use of public transportation.īecause last year’s closure went well, officials were concerned this year about ultra-gridlock out of a fear that motorists may get behind the wheel this weekend out of excessive confidence and complacency. Lauren Wonder, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, said residents so far had heeded warnings to stay home or in their communities. No major traffic jams had been reported early Sunday morning. The drama is heightened by how the closed portion of the 405 overlaps the Sepulveda Pass of the Santa Monica Mountains - one of only two major highways over the range. But last year’s evacuation of the highway went smoothly, causing no paralysis. The theatrical play on words captures Los Angeles’ love affair with the automobile and its dread of common traffic jams. “So far, ‘Carmageddon II’ is an excellent sequel,” Los Angeles Fire Capt. “Carmageddon II” repeats last year’s closure of the same section of Interstate 405, which had been expected to be so apocalyptic that Los Angeles residents labeled the weekend shutdown “Carmageddon.” The bridge collapse is not expected to delay the scheduled reopening early Monday morning of a 10-mile section of Interstate 405, one of the nation’s busiest freeways. “We did not anticipate this, although it’s not unusual for a big piece to come down like that.” “On an operation of this size, of this magnitude, pieces come down of all different sizes and shapes,” Dan Kulka of Kiewit Construction told CNN affiliate KABC. Last year, three people slipped onto the freeway at the crack of dawn and snapped photos of themselves enjoying a gourmet meal on an eerily empty freeway.LOS ANGELES (CNN) - A massive Southern California highway project dubbed “Carmageddon II” saw an unscripted moment when a section of a bridge unexpectedly collapsed, narrowly missing construction crews, officials said.Ī portion of the famed 50-year-old Mulholland Drive Bridge - a fixture in the Los Angeles freeway-scape - came down Saturday as workers were demolishing another part of it. ![]() The rare sight of a carless freeway attracted many onlookers, including seven people who were cited for sneaking onto the roadway, the California Highway Patrol said. California Department of Transportation officials said that in order for “Carmageddon II” to be a success, at least two-thirds of those drivers need to stay off the road. The closed, 10-mile section of the 405 carries about 500,000 motorists each day on a typical weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times. We’re known for our traffic, and it’s just nothing.” “It’s like that movie ‘Vanilla Sky,’ … where Times Square is empty,” Sterling Gates told KABC-TV. Like Villaraigosa, some drivers couldn’t resist comparing the scenario to a movie. “The real stars of this sequel were the motorists who took advantage of a car-free weekend and stayed off the road,” he said. Villaraigosa says his hope for a “Carmaheaven” came true and thanked drivers for their cooperation. Like last year, city residents heeded months of warnings to stay off the road and the fear of an epic traffic jam never materialized. The process will be repeated for southbound lanes.Ī similar closure occurred last year to demolish portions of the Mulholland Drive bridge to allow construction of an additional freeway lane. The connector ramps to Interstate 10 were opened first, followed by the northbound lanes and the on-ramps, police Det. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Sunday called “Carmageddon II,” the sequel to last year’s shutdown of one of the nation’s busiest freeways, a success and thanked drivers for staying off the road and keeping the weekend traffic unusually light.īridgework that forced the closure of Interstate 405 was completed and lanes of the freeway through the Sepulveda Pass began reopening Sunday night, hours ahead of a planned reopening for the Monday morning commute.
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