‘Jamzilla’: 45-minute delays on 405 Freeway; project on schedule
State transportation officials said Monday night that motorists were encountering 45-minute delays on the 405 Freeway during “Jamzilla” and that the project was expected to be finished in time for the Tuesday morning rush-hour commute.
The paving and striping on the northbound lanes between Sunset and Ventura boulevards was on target to be completed by 6 a.m., the California Department of Transportation said.
The work is part of a $1.1-billion project to build the final 10-mile leg of the 405’s northbound carpool lane over the Sepulveda Pass. It includes freeway widenings, rebuilding on- and off-ramps, demolishing and rebuilding three bridges and adding miles of sound walls.
The project began on Saturday and required officials to close three of the five northbound lanes of the 405 during the day and all the northbound lanes at night.
Jamzilla is the name transportation officials gave the freeway closure. It recalls the full weekend closures of a stretch of the 405 in 2011 and 2012 to enable workers to demolish the Mulholland Bridge. The first of those gave rise to the apocalyptic name Carmageddon, but the Southland survived the loss of drive time relatively unscathed.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said over the weekend that commuters had heeded the agency’s warnings about the project and avoided the area. Traffic delays were minimal, the transit agency said.
Twitter: @LAJourno
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