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Second round of ‘Carmageddon’ on I-405 set for Sept. 29-30

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“Carmageddon” -– the ominous closure of 10 miles of the 405 Freeway that Angelenos survived a year ago –- is returning late this September.

Transportation officials announced Thursday that Carmageddon II is scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30 and said the 405 will be shut down in both directions between the 10 and 101 Freeways for 53 hours.

“This closure will surely impact the nearly 250,000 motorists from all over the county that travel the Sepulveda Pass each day on the weekend,” Metro board chairman and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said in a news release.

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“Law enforcement, transportation and emergency response agencies strongly advise that county residents make plans in advance to use an alternate route or transit,” he said. The first Carmageddon closure was last July, when construction crews demolished the south side of the Mulholland Drive bridge that crosses over the 405. It was part of a larger $1-billion freeway improvement project that will add a 10-mile northbound carpool lane and is expected to be complete in 2013.

Traffic, which many expected to be horrific during that closure, was actually fairly calm.

“During Carmageddon I, drivers proved the skeptics wrong. They heard our warnings and stayed off the roads, creating a traffic breather not seen since the free-flowing freeways of the 1984 Olympics,” Metro board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said in a statement.

Crews will demolish the north side of the bridge during the September closure, and officials have expressed concern that the free-flowing traffic of the first Carmageddon could make it difficult to convince motorists to avoid the area this time around.

“We are calling on the public to do its civic duty. Do not become complacent,” said Metro board member and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “ Rather, let’s join together to enjoy another car-light or car-free weekend with family and friends.”

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