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July Is The Wrong Month To Get On The 405

A 405 Freeway construction-awareness campaign is gearing up to prepare summer drivers for the impending, grinding, halt that is the Mulholland Dr Bridge Demolition & Reconstruction. All lanes of the 405 Freeway will be shut down in both directions for more than two days in July, according to officials, with closures beginning Friday night July 15 and and reopening 53 hours later at 5:00 a.m. on Monday, July 18.
Zev Yaroslavsky, LA County Supervisor, 3rd District, announced on his website the pre-alert on Friday noting the upcoming news conference on the closure event that will see the freeway shut down from Getty Center Drive to the 101 while crews demolish half of the Mulholland Drive overpass as part of the Sepulveda Pass improvement project set to add carpool lanes, wider underpasses, improved bridges and new ramps.
With a half million or so vehicles moving along that stretch of the 405 during a typical July weekend, the closure has the potential of becoming a midsummer night’s nightmare for motorists heading to LAX, the beach or other destinations. But, with enough planning and advance notice, Metro officials say that the worst can be averted. “This is manageable as long as the public cooperates. They’ve got a lot of summer plans and we don’t want them to be surprised,” said Metro spokesman Marc Littman. “If you can stay home, great. If you don’t have to drive, great.” And if you do have to get behind the wheel, follow the officially marked detours, which by that point will have been widely publicized.
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