Major closure, but no Carmageddon III

Three lanes of the five-lane northbound 405 are set to close for repaving work starting March 1.

Motorists, be forewarned: the northbound 405 Freeway will be a great place to avoid the first weekend in March.

Three northbound lanes on the freeway will be closing for 55 straight hours between Montana Avenue and Getty Center Drive. In addition, the Getty Center Drive and Moraga Drive northbound on-ramps will be closed, as will the northbound Montana and Moraga off-ramps.

Despite the length of the closure, this is no “mini Carmageddon”—although officials stress that drivers should plan alternate routes through the area to avoid major backups.

“We are concerned with daytime traffic,” said Kasey Shuda, construction relations manager for the project. “Obviously, there will be some delays if people don’t divert.”

Still, she added: “It’s not that big of a deal at all. It’s not like Carmageddon at all…We do three-lane closures at night all the time.”

Northbound travelers should get off at Wilshire and take Sepulveda Boulevard as an alternate route through the area.

The closure is needed so that workers can pave a portion of the new carpool lane that’s at the heart of the massive construction undertaking; bridges and ramps also are being widened and rebuilt as part of the overall improvement project.

All in all, it could be worse: there’s no need for a similar three-lane closure on the southbound side because workers were able to complete that work during Carmageddon II.

Weather permitting, the closures will begin at 10 p.m. on Friday, March 1. The lanes are expected to reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday, March 4.

Changeable message signs publicizing the coming lane closures are already up in the area, and beginning March 1, Caltrans signs countywide will alert motorists about travel times in the closure zone throughout the weekend. Traffic control officers will be on duty and there are contingency plans to close more ramps if needed to keep traffic moving along Sepulveda.

Learn more about it at an upcoming community meeting scheduled for February 28.

Posted 2/13/13