The Mulholland Drive Bridge in Los Angeles will be demolished this weekend to accommodate the widening of the Interstate 405 freeway and to add a northbound high-occupancy vehicle lane through the Sepulveda Pass. Demolition activities will take place over the July 16-17 weekend for 53 consecutive hours, resulting in the full freeway closure of the I-405 freeway in the Sepulveda Pass.
The affected stretch of freeway is among the busiest in the country, with about 330,000 vehicles traveling through the Sepulveda Pass daily. The I-405 freeway closure boundaries for the July 16-17 weekend are:
• Northbound I-405: 10-mile closure between I-10 and U.S. 101; and
• Southbound I-405: 4-mile closure between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive ramps.
On Friday, July 15, ramps along the 10- mile closure will begin to be shut down as early as 7 p.m., and closure of freeway lanes will begin at 10 p.m. to ensure full freeway closure by midnight. The closure will continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning, July 18. Ramps and connectors will be reopened by 6 a.m.
Sepulveda Boulevard is intended as an alternate route for local resident access only. Sepulveda Boulevard will not have the capacity to accommodate both local and diverted freeway traffic. Those using Sepulveda Boulevard should expect extreme congestion and lengthy delays. Motorists should instead use alternate regional freeway routes to completely bypass the Sepulveda Pass.
Severe traffic conditions are anticipated in local and regional areas during the weekend of the full freeway closure. Detour maps will be available at www.metro.net/projects/I-405/segment-detours/ to reroute local traffic through the area. Also alternative regional freeway routes will be available to encourage the traveling public to avoid this area completely during the weekend of the bridge demolition.
When completed, the expanded Mulholland Center Drive Bridge will be widened by about 10 feet and designed to the latest seismic standards.
