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LAX road repairs: Add 30 mins to your ETA, and other things you should know
Traffic approaches LAX as people travel to Thanksgiving holiday destinations on November 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.
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David McNew/Getty Images
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LAX’s project to repair their upper level departure drop-off lanes is set to begin Monday night and last several weeks, bringing traffic bottlenecks and delays for people entering and exiting the airport.
“We just want people to be aware so they can plan ahead and give themselves a little bit of extra time while we’re doing this necessary construction,” LAX spokesman Mary Grady told KPCC. “I can’t give people an exact amount of time, but if I were traveling myself I’d give myself a good 30 to 40 minutes extra time.”
The $32.4 million project in the LAX Central Terminal Area will completely repair the 31-year-old roadway, “which shows areas of surface cracks, spalling, deteriorating concrete, and ‘shallow’ reinforcing steel” LAX said in a statement. About 45,000 cars use the roadway each day.
The upper level roadway will not completely close during construction or prevent passenger access to terminals. However, every lane needs to be repaired, which will mean vehicle lanes will be restricted at certain times and the work could cause delays to vehicles entering and exiting LAX.
Roadway workers will completely blast away the old concrete, lay down new concrete, and sand and re-stripe the stretch.
About 2000 feet of roadway — the equivalent of seven football fields — will be repaired each night, Grady said.
The work is expected to be completed before Thanksgiving.
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Days and times when roadway work will take place:
- Monday through Thursday nights, work will begin at 11 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. the following morning.
- Friday and Saturday nights, work will begin at 11 p.m. and end at 1 p.m. the following afternoon.
The roadway work is part of LAX’s multi-billion-dollar, capital-improvement program to modernize the airport and enhance overall guest experience, the airport said.
“Once it's done it should be beautiful and it should last another 30 years,” said Grady.
Tips for navigating LAX during roadway work:
- Check LAX traffic and lane restriction maps
- Passengers arriving for an early morning flight can be dropped off at the lower level (Arrivals), which is fairly empty during that time, instead of the upper level and take an escalator or elevator to the upper level. This should be avoided at night, however, since that area gets crowded in the evening.
- Check out more LAX tips below:
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