1.7 miles of good news on the 405

The 405 Project hits a major milestone as a new lane opens between the 10 and Santa Monica Boulevard.

There’s light at the end of the project. The 405 Project, buffeted by high-profile delays and escalating frustration levels among motorists and those who live and work around the construction zone, has a bit of good news to announce:

The first stretch of the 10-mile carpool lane at the heart of the $1 billion-plus improvement project is set to open this week.

Starting Friday, May 24, the new lane, running for 1.7  miles on the northbound 405 between the 10 Freeway and Santa Monica Boulevard, will be open to motorists. For now, everyone—not just carpoolers—will be allowed to drive in the lane, which expands the northbound freeway to six lanes.

According to a construction notice from Metro, the new lane will accomodate between 1,500 and 2,000 vehicles per hour.

The massive project, under construction since 2011, originally was set to be completely finished this year. But a series of problems—including complex utility relocations and shifting the location of Sepulveda Boulevard—has slowed work considerably and forced a rethinking of the schedule. Now officials have decided to open the project in phases, with Thursday’s lane-opening marking the first installment. A second, 1.4 mile stretch to Wilshire Boulevard will open next month, while the northernmost segment is expected to open later this year. The middle segment, where most of the delays have occurred, is slated to open in 2014.

The delays have prompted criticism from Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and other elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, who’s called for an investigation into why things are taking so long and asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to do everything he can to expedite the project.

When complete, the Metro-Caltrans project will have widened the 405 to accommodate a new 10-mile northbound carpool lane, modernized and rebuilt three towering bridges and created a safer and smoother-flowing set of flyover ramps at Wilshire Boulevard.

Posted 5/21/13