CARMAGEDDON - July 15-17

[ORDisneyfans]

Thanks for all the great replies! I am feeling better now. I like the 91 to Sepulvada route. That was how I was planning on going. It would actually be cheaper for me to take the DL express bus round trip (though I don't know how horrible it may be!) and just rent a car for the couple of days we are going to really need it. That would save me on parking fees too! (My girls love to shop and want to go to Ontario Mills. We try to go every trip!) I just hate not having a car and being on someone else's schedule.

ps My 14yo's name is Shelby!

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

Thanks for all the great replies! I am feeling better now. I like the 91 to Sepulvada route. That was how I was planning on going. It would actually be cheaper for me to take the DL express bus round trip (though I don't know how horrible it may be!) and just rent a car for the couple of days we are going to really need it. That would save me on parking fees too! (My girls love to shop and want to go to Ontario Mills. We try to go every trip!) I just hate not having a car and being on someone else's schedule.

ps My 14yo's name is Shelby!

Woo! Shelby is a bit more popular now than it was when I was young (I'm 38 now), but it's an excellent name. You have impeccable taste . I'm sure you all will have a great trip.

 

[brenda1966]

helenb, I'm plannign the same route -- through Pasadena. It really doesn't seem to be that far out of the way and I'd rather be moving and have to go a few extra miles, than just sitting. Hope we both encounter moving traffic!

 

[helenb]

helenb, I'm plannign the same route -- through Pasadena. It really doesn't seem to be that far out of the way and I'd rather be moving and have to go a few extra miles, than just sitting. Hope we both encounter moving traffic!

I completely agree, Brenda! I'm hoping it works out okay for both of us! I'm planning to hit LA/Pasadena area about 1 pm on Saturday the 16th, so hopefully even if the Carmageddon isn't as bad as expected, there won't have been time yet for people to get out in their cars.

At least, I can hope...

 

[cmwade77]

I seriously think this is the most overblown thing ever, and I was born and raised in SoCal. 6+ hours? Please. You could take surface streets the whole way. The 405 construction is far North of LAX and completely in the opposite direction of Orange County. The DLR doesn't even have an direct access to the 405, let alone feeding people onto it to get stuck. It helps to take a look at a map and see where the construction is and where DLR is. The problem is for people north of LAX and north of LA getting down to LAX and getting downtown, not for people in OC getting to LAX to begin with. This stretch of freeway is busy because above the 101 is the "Valley" and most people who live in the valley work in downtown LA. That has nothing to do with Orange County or DLR. Add an extra hour if it makes you feel better, but don't freak out.

I mapped it out for you.

The problem is that there is very limited street alternatives, they cannot handle the amount of traffic that the 405 can. It will definitely be a total mess, unless everyone does just chose to stay at home or go on vacation that weekend. What I think will happen is:
People from out of the area will take alternative freeways, which will then cause locals to take surface streets, which will then backup.

Now, it is possible none of this happens, but given normal traffic, even on a weekend through that stretch, it makes me think that traffic will truly be a nightmare.

 

[Armadillo4]

*bump* four days and counting down...

On my drive home yesterday from Disneyland, I counted 10 electronic freeway signs warning of the freeway closure. That's 10 electronic signs in the span of 42 miles from the park to my apartment in the San Fernando Valley.

On one of the local newscasts this evening, nearly 15 minutes was spent on Carmageddon coverage. It sounds like a lot of locals are planning appropriately by staying in or staying away this coming weekend. A lot of local businesses around the construction area are being affected. Some are shutting down (e.g. The Getty Center), reducing staff or providing nearby accommodations for their employees.

Some resources for those looking for specific details:

Official Metro.net Website for the "405 Project"
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/405project
LA Times: Carmageddon Portal/Article Archive
And this overview map (pdf) from the Metro.net site does a good job showing the section of the 405 that will be closed and alternate freeway routes.

 

[cyclenut]

*bump* four days and counting down...

On my drive home yesterday from Disneyland, I counted 10 electronic freeway signs warning of the freeway closure. That's 10 electronic signs in the span of 42 miles from the park to my apartment in the San Fernando Valley.

On one of the local newscasts this evening, nearly 15 minutes was spent on Carmageddon coverage. It sounds like a lot of locals are planning appropriately by staying in or staying away this coming weekend. A lot of local businesses around the construction area are being affected. Some are shutting down (e.g. The Getty Center), reducing staff or providing nearby accommodations for their employees.

Some resources for those looking for specific details:

Official Metro.net Website for the "405 Project"
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/405project
LA Times: Carmageddon Portal/Article Archive
And this overview map (pdf) from the Metro.net site does a good job showing the section of the 405 that will be closed and alternate freeway routes.

VERY good information. I heard today that "experts" think the "worst case scenario" is a backup of 35 miles. I also heard that the LA Galaxy soccer team is playing host to Real Madrid at the Coliseum on Saturday at 7:00 pm. They are expecting upwards of 20,000 fans, all making their way to/from the stadium, which is just south of I-10, just off of the I-110. With all the additional 405 closure traffic along those routes, this could create an even worse gridlock around there. Stay out of that area completely on Saturday night.

For point of reference, the N/S route of the 605 roughly defines the western border of Orange County. To be sure, there is no point west of the 605 that is in Orange County.

The 405/605 interchange is just over 35 miles from the point of construction but only 30 miles from the 405/10 interchange, which is where the freeway will be closed (northbound).

The 405/22 freeway interchange is about 33 miles from the 405/10 interchange.

Point being, the backup could stretch into Orange County a little, but not likely by much. It shouldn't be enough to alter travel plans at points south or East of the 405/22 interchange, even by worst case estimates.

The usual caveats apply. This has never been done before, so all forecasts are estimates. But the word is seriously out there. Nearly every electronic sign along the freeway, no matter what its original purpose might have been (including construction signs, permanent signs, whatever) are all warning motorists of this closure. It is on the local news every day on every station.

The closer we get to this event, the more likely I am to believe that this worst case scenario simply won't play out.

 

[CalvaryMike]

I'm a native Southern Californian and have lived here all of my life. I drive about 150 miles a day in So. Cal. I agree with many others that this will not be much of an issue, especially for the O.C. I think all of they hype is great and it'll keep people away from the area. However, this could back fire and those that live in the area, may decide to stay away from the effected freeway and go to DL for the day or weekend!

 

[cmwade77]

Ok, as of this morning, the CHP is reporting that they expect a backup of 25 miles on all freeways headed towards L.A.

Please note that historically CHP has always underestimated these things, my guess is backups could exceed 50 miles on all freeways.

The best bet is avoid the L.A. area at all costs, unfortunately, I know some like the OP have no other choice and I truly do hope that things do not turn out as bad as they are expected to turn out, but knowing L.A. traffic, I think they will be far worse.

In addition, I am willing to hazard a guess that they will not be completed on time and it will take an additional 1/2-2 days, as there are always unexpected circumstances when doing construction/demolition.

 

[helenb]

When you guys say a backup of 20 miles, 25 miles, 35 miles, 50 miles,... backup starting WHERE? 35 miles from WHAT? From 405? From downtown LA? I'm coming into LA on 5 through the grapevine and plan to get off in Pasadena. Does this mean that the backup will be into the Grapevine?

 

[cmwade77]

When you guys say a backup of 20 miles, 25 miles, 35 miles, 50 miles,... backup starting WHERE? 35 miles from WHAT? From 405? From downtown LA? I'm coming into LA on 5 through the grapevine and plan to get off in Pasadena. Does this mean that the backup will be into the Grapevine?

Generally speaking when they say something like this, it means from the edge of L.A. (in your case about 15 miles south of where the 14 and 5 meet is about where they would be measuring it from)

 

[helenb]

Generally speaking when they say something like this, it means from the edge of L.A. (in your case about 15 miles south of where the 14 and 5 meet is about where they would be measuring it from)

Thanks for the response. So into the Grapvine. Ugh. I was hoping to be off it before the backup started... Sigh.

 

[Disney4us2]

We are planning on going to Disneyland on Saturday. I live just north of the 118 freeway in the San Fernando Valley. I usually take the 5 to the Hollywood freeway and connect up with the 5 again. May just switch to the 210 to the 605 back to the 5. Hopefully at 6am it won't be too bad.

 

[Armadillo4]

When you guys say a backup of 20 miles, 25 miles, 35 miles, 50 miles,... backup starting WHERE? 35 miles from WHAT? From 405? From downtown LA? I'm coming into LA on 5 through the grapevine and plan to get off in Pasadena. Does this mean that the backup will be into the Grapevine?

helenb, I think you should expect the worst, but I don't think you'll see the worse case scenario play out. The local news media (heck, the national news media) and government agencies want to get the word out and they are *properly* expecting the worst and letting everyone know. That way, drivers, especially locals, will stay off the freeways this weekend to help alleviate conditions. Better to expect the worst, and if they're wrong, then everyone can breathe a huge sigh of relief. No one will be angry if the predicted carmageddon turns out to be less than that.

And people keep saying that "something like this has never happened before." Well, something worse happened just 17 years ago. I lived in Santa Clarita (just a couple miles from Six Flags Magic Mountain) when the Northridge Earthquake struck in 1994. The I-5 collapsed in two spots along the Newhall Pass and it took around 9 or 10 MONTHS to rebuild. At the same time a portion of the I-10 collapsed around Culver City and it took approx. 3 MONTHS to rebuild. Yes, the detours and traffic were pretty bad, but there was nothing like 35 mile backups. My memories are admittedly hazy about driving into L.A. in the post-quake weeks, but I'd like to say the worst I remember were 6-8 mile backups along the I-5 before we had to get off on The Old Road detour.

So, I'm glad that everyone is doing planning and expecting the worst. Have those smartphones with traffic maps ready if you have to come through L.A. this weekend. And good luck to everyone out there!

 

[helenb]

Thanks, Armadillo! And yes, we plan to have the iPad with the live traffic maps, so we can make out last-minute travel decisions!

 

[CalvaryMike]

In addition, I am willing to hazard a guess that they will not be completed on time and it will take an additional 1/2-2 days, as there are always unexpected circumstances when doing construction/demolition.

405 Project Contractor Has Incentive

Kiewit Infrastructure, the company that originally built the overpass and will now be removing it, will be docked $6,000 for every 10 minutes they pass the deadline for each direction of the freeway—as much as $12,000 for the north and southbound lanes. That's about $72,000 per hour.

 

[jlmarr]

Here's an interesting idea. I guess they're figuring on a lot of collateral congestion.

http://twitter.com/#!/JetBlueCheeps/statuses/91229826807119872

 

[Disney Dreams]

On the news last night they were discussing how there are teams that have been assembled to manually monitor the congestion in regard to the timing of lights on streets that are expected to be used a alternates. While computers generally run preset timing on these lights, all weekend humans will be monitoring it and have the ability to adjust the timing as needed.

As they said on the news, even if 1/2 of the people usually on the roads in LA on the weekends heed the advice and stay off the roads, 250,000 cars have to go somewhere.

O...In addition, I am willing to hazard a guess that they will not be completed on time and it will take an additional 1/2-2 days, as there are always unexpected circumstances when doing construction/demolition.

Ummm, they will be finished in time. They know there is no option. Monday would be a complete nightmare for traffic and simply life in general - as well as the economy - if the roads are not open. That patch of freeway is literally the lifeline for people in LA on weekdays.

The question as to if it will be done on time is more to the minutes or hour, not days.

- Dreams (who has no plans further than 15 minutes from home all weekend long)

 

[jlmarr]

Here's an interesting idea. I guess they're figuring on a lot of collateral congestion.

http://twitter.com/#!/JetBlueCheeps/statuses/91229826807119872

That was quick!

http://twitter.com/#!/JetBlueCheeps/statuses/91280954764701696

 

[Disney Dreams]

That was quick!

http://twitter.com/#!/JetBlueCheeps/statuses/91280954764701696

It was an incredible offer. Even if there is NO traffic, $4? The gas to get there is more than that!

- Dreams