Live blog: Work finished, 405 open once again

Corey Moore, Brian Watt, and Stephanie O'Neill | September 30th, 2012, 8:53pm

UPDATE Sunday 8:45 p.m.: 405 work is complete; the freeway is re-opening| Permalink

The 405 Freeway Unified Command has issued the following update:

"Kiewit, the contractor, has finished the clean up process and the re-opening process of the I-405 Freeway has begun. This process started at the I-10 connector ramps and will work north to open off-ramps at 8 p.m. and all lanes of the northbound I-405 freeway are anticipated to be open by 8:45 p.m.. Once the freeway lanes are officially open, the contractor will start to open northbound on-ramps. Once the northbound lanes are open, the process will be repeated on the southbound lanes. The process of re-opening the entire I-405 Freeway will take approximately three hours.

"The Unified Command would like to thank Los Angeles residents for heeding the warning to avoid the Sepulveda Pass area and making Carmageddon II a success."

Coping with Carmageddon by loving (and hating) it on Twitter

Tony Pierce | September 29th, 2012, 4:20pm

Grant Slater/KPCC

Work continued on the bridge over the top of the Sepulveda Pass. Despite the shutdown traffic flowed freely on interstates in The Valley.

Southern Californians love their cars and today, the first day of Carmageddon 2, some of them took photographs of what traffic looked like around L.A.

Some folks simply tweeted their opinions about the 10-mile 405 shutdown from the safety of home. Here is a sample of what people are talking about Saturday afternoon.

Just what LA needed: a huge triathlon Sunday during Carmageddon 2

Tony Pierce | September 26th, 2012, 5:08pm

While officials are pleading with Los Angelenos to stay off the roads, 2,500 athletes from 29 states and 13 countries will descend on our streets for a triathlon Sunday.

Yes, this Sunday: Carmageddon 2 Sunday.

In fact some of the same officials who are encouraging locals to lay low are the ones who approved the race that will stretch from Venice Beach to downtown L.A. from Sunday morning through the early afternoon.

According to Jan Fambro, the spokesperson for the Herbalife Triathlon Los Angeles, the 12-year-old event already had all its permits in order when it was announced that Carmageddon 2 was going to happen during the same weekend.

"We confirmed that date eleven months ago," she told KPCC on Wednesday. "Even after we found out that Carmaggedon was Saturday and Sunday we didnt have a choice. We couldn't change the date because of the schedule," she explained.

Carmageddon 2: The end of the world returns Sept. 29-30 to the 405 freeway

Lisa Brenner | July 19th, 2012, 12:20pm

Grant Slater/KPCC

Drivers made their way back onto a section of the 405 freeway that had been shut down for much of the weekend.

Mark your doomsday datebooks, Metro has announced that the I-405 Freeway will be closed in both directions, between the 10 and the 101, over the weekend of Sept. 29-30. Plan dinner parties accordingly.

Carmageddon 2: Congestion Boogaloo will take the form of a 10-mile closure for 53 consecutive hours as work on the Sepulveda Pass continues. The portion of closed freeway typically touches tires with about half a million motorists on a normal weekend, says Metro.

During the shutdown, workers will be demolishing the rest of the Mulholland Drive bridge. Drivers across the state are being advised to "Plan Ahead, Avoid the Area, or Eat, Shop and Play Locally."

Last July's Carmageddon closure wrapped up 17 hours ahead of schedule. Thursday's announcement did not include the same hopefulness, noting, "The contractor is unlikely to complete the work early because it has more demolition work to perform within the same 53-hour period."

Metro, the FBI and why Carmageddon 2 is running late

Lisa Brenner with Ashley Bailey | May 25th, 2012, 6:30pm

Los Angeles's 405 Freeway Closes Completely For Bridge Repair

David McNew/Getty Images

Part II of the end of the world is going to be a little late.

Carmegeddon 2 has been delayed, says Metro spokesman Marc Littman. He's referring to plans to completely shut down a section of the 405 for a whole weekend, just like last summer, in order to complete work on the Mulholland Bridge.

The date for starting construction has been held up by unforeseen utility work and a $300 million lawsuit, reports the Daily News.

One unexepected issue is the need to remove utility poles, and the resulting demand by the FBI — working out of the building on 11000 Wilshire Boulevard near the construction site — that "Metro workers go through security clearance before working on the sensitive FBI lines," Littman told KPCC.

Metro hopes to continue phase two of the Mulholland Bridge work by the end of the summer. The construction is part of the $1 billion Sepulveda Pass Improvement Project that will see 10 miles of carpool lanes added to the northbound 405, three bridges rebuilt and upgrades to on- and off-ramps (aka the Rampture).