Los Angeles - A general warning about LA freeways this July.

A bit of warning, the 405 freeway will closed, the whole stretch the weekend of the 16-17 of July. It will impact air traffic and ricochet to deadlocks into other freeways.

So plan accordingly if you are in the Los Angeles area. Actually the whole LA county area.

the 405 freeway will closed, the whole stretch

Are you saying the entire length of the 405 from north to south?

Are you saying the entire length of the 405 from north to south?

It's not the entire 405, just part of it, but it will still be a complete mess.

The closure will run from the 10 freeway on the west side, to the junction of the 101 Ventura freeway in the valley.

It's not the entire 405, just part of it, but it will still be a complete mess.

No guarantee anyone will notice the difference. ;)

Seriously, that will be a bit of a disaster.

thanks for this, I will be in and around LA that time (driving)...sigh!

The local news media is actually suggesting people stock up on groceries and stay home for the duration of the closure.

Traffic in Cairo will be a bit of a bi*ch that weekend too. Come to think of it it's bad here everyday!

Don't forget Bangkok around July 3rd (national elections).

The closure of the 405 will affect people transiting from the "basin" to the "valley." If you don't know where those areas are, check a map.

Why is this thread in the BAEC forum? Maybe FT needs a "Travel Advisory" forum for these sorts of posting.

thanks for this, I will be in and around LA that time (driving)...sigh!

So will I

Traffic in Cairo will be a bit of a bi*ch that weekend too.

All the better to frustrate MS PUCCI's attempts to get away from your clutches. Why don't you invite him over for a tryst?

Don't forget Bangkok around July 3rd (national elections).

The closure of the 405 will affect people transiting from the "basin" to the "valley." If you don't know where those areas are, check a map.

Why is this thread in the BAEC forum? Maybe FT needs a "Travel Advisory" forum for these sorts of posting.

Because I usually post on the fun BA forum. And just got the news today and wanted to advice people going to LA from the forum. SIMPLE...you don't like it, then don't read it. But it will be a mess, so have contingency plans.

They've been running warnings on the freeway notice boards that read something ridiculous like "Expect big delay". I suppose it's too much to ask to have Caltrans write in anything resembling proper English.

The local news here has been crazy with this, naming it things like "Carmageddon".

Thanks for the heads up Yahilwee. Thankfully we arrive on the 25th. Will you be in town?

They've been running warnings on the freeway notice boards that read something ridiculous like "Expect big delay". I suppose it's too much to ask to have Caltrans write in anything resembling proper English.


Please help this unwashed colonist: given that the signs are limited to two lines of about 16 characters each, how should we have expressed that thought?

Let's move this over the the LA forum.

Prospero
Moderator: BAEC Forum

As it has been discussed in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/los-angeles/544844-consolidated-getting-_____-los-angeles-area-thread-26.html

However, might be useful to leave this thread as a separate thread for people using the search function.

Also, useful links:

http://thesource.metro.net/2011/06/06/officials-plead-with-public-to-avoid-405sepulveda-pass-area-during-full-closure-weekend-of-july-16-17/

http://thesource.metro.net/2011/06/03/metro-to-offer-free-subway-service-and-more-frequent-buses-and-trains-to-help-region-cope-with-405-sepulveda-pass-closure/

Perhaps we need to edit the title to make it more noticable - visitors who plan to come to LA that weekend should avoid booking hotels north of 405/10 and adjust their airport travel time if they fly in or out during the closure.

I disagree with the "Bad traffic? How's that different from any other day?" type comments here. Having lived on the West Side, a few blocks from the 405, for a few years I know that this closure will have MAJOR impact. Freeways such as the 10, 110, 101 and 5 will be loaded with extra travelers detouring around the closure. Even on weekends most of these roads are at capacity for much of the day, so the extra traffic is going to cause miles of jams. Surface street alternatives to the 405, especially Sepulveda, will be absolutely swamped by drivers looking for a local alternative.

Frankly, if I were still living in West LA I would have made plans by now to stay somewhere else for the whole weekend or I would plan to leave my car parked at home and only walk. And if I were staying home, yes I would stock up on groceries the week before; all of the grocery stores I used to shop at involved 2-3 mile drives along impacted roads like Sepulveda.

Rather than merely screaming, "the sky is falling," having alternative routes around the gridlock is a better strategy...

Since this site is aimed at frequent fliers, I figure that the key will be to address the issue of those arriving or departing LAX on July 16-17.

First thought. Tune your car radio to AM-1070 (KNX News, "Traffic on the 5s") which should be running traffic reports most of the weekend. Renting a car with a GPS that does live traffic reporting may be worth the higher price.

Those arriving and planning to stay in the greater LA area on that weekend should think about South & East...either the beach communities from Manhattan Beach to Long Beach to Newport Beach, or perhaps the Orange County amusement park communities of Anaheim or Buena Park.

If you've got to do the Santa Monica/Hollywood/Universal/Downtown thing, avoid taking any route that includes I-405, I-10, or Sepulveda Blvd. north of the airport. Santa Monica & Venice can be reached by following Highway 1, which turns W. onto Lincoln Blvd immediately N of LAX. For Beverly Hills to Hollywood/Universal City, I'd take Manchester Blvd E. to La Cienaga Blvd. N.....and when I got to the La Cienaga-Fairfax split, decide which would get me closer to my destination. If La Cienaga Blvd. is at all bad, I'd likely dodge East to La Brea Blvd. or Western Ave, and take either of these routes North. For Downtown, I'd nip South to the I-105, and take it East to I-110 North.

Now if I was arriving at LAX and had planned to get out of town during that weekend, I'd look to routes that avoided the probable traffic jams to be caused by the I-405 closure.

-If I was headed for the I-5 & points North (Central Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco, Sacramento), I'd use the 105 routing mentioned above...but but prepared to avoid Downtown traffic by continuing on I-105 East to I-710 North...which I'd take until it reached the I-5 North.

-If I was headed North up the Coast (Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco), I'd probably choose to take Highway 1 (as mentioned above) all the way to Camarillo or Oxnard where I'd pickup I-101 N....but knowing that traffic along this long stretch of popular beaches could be pretty bad during the day, I'd keep the idea of going out via Hollywood or Downtown to I-101 N, or even I-5 (to I-134/101 W) or to the I-118 which would eventually get you to the 101.

-Even heading East to Las Vegas, Palm Springs, the Grand Canyon or Phoenix could lead you to tangle with traffic between LAX and Downtown LA... I'd very much recommend dodging I-10 until well past Downtown... Taking I-105 East to the I-605 North will allow you to catch either I-60, I-10, or I-210 East depending upon where you are ultimately heading.

Best of luck to all... I'll probably be camped out in the San Fernando Valley, with *NO* intent to head out onto the roads that weekend.

It is as of Friday the 15th in the evening.

"With some predicting there will be "carmageddon" when 10 miles of the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles are shut down from the evening of Friday, July 15 until 5 a.m. local time on Monday the 18th, the Los Angeles Police Department is reaching out for help in urging folks to avoid the area." (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/06/30/137525890/fearing-carmageddon-los-angeles-police-ask-celebs-to-tweet)

Here is a recent news story on "Carmaggedon Weekend" and how the travel industry in L.A. is preparing for it:

LAX preps travelers for "Carmaggedon" weekend (http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8233548)

I take the 405 to work so I am a little worried. My co-workers and I were trying to decide what to do, so we decided to book with http://primetimeshuttle.com they are having carmaggedon specials. I'm still a little skeptical and worried but I hope everything will be okay.

Bumped for Carmageddon II