“Carmageddon,” “Carpocolypse,” “Aye CARumba,” “Mission Impassable,” or just “The 405 Closure” – whatever you call it, you’ve come to the right place to help you survive the 405 and the demolition of the Mulholland Bridge!

We have a lot of the common questions answered below.  However, if you need more information or need more clarification you may contact us via Facebook, on Twitter @TotalTrafficLA, or via email at 405@totaltrafficla.com

When you’re on the road, tune in to our Total Traffic affiliate KFI AM 640 for traffic reports from the air and ground.

In the meantime, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know:

What part of the 405 will close?

405 NORTH will close between the 10 and 101

405 SOUTH will close between the 101 and Getty Center Drive.

When will the 405 close?

Closures will start at 7pm on Friday.  Each hour, ramps will be closed and lanes taken away one by one.  At midnight, the entire freeway will close.  The freeway will reopen on Monday, July 18 at 5am.  Remaining ramps will reopen by 6am.

What are the alternate routes for the 405 closure?

There are numerous ways to get around the closure, but traffic is expected to be heavy on the alternate routes.

The main 405 closure detour will be the 101, 110 and 10 freeways: 

• Traffic coming north on the 405 will be sent to the 10 EAST, then 110 NORTH to 101 NORTH back to the 405. 
• Traffic coming south will be sent to the 101 SOUTH to the 110 SOUTH to the 10 WEST.

The recommended 405 closure detour and alternate route between the Valley and LAX is:

• Valley to LAX: 101 SOUTH to 110 SOUTH to 105 WEST
• LAX to Valley: 105 EAST to 110 NORTH to 101 NORTH

By the way – we’ve been getting a lot of questions from people coming from the east.   Your best course of action is going to try to stay as far south on your approach to the airport as possible.   Officials say that they don’t expect to see massive traffic jams from the south heading towards LAX.    Do not, under any circumstances try to take the 60 or 10 WEST to Downtown and continue on the 10 WEST to the 405.

So if you’re coming from the Inland Empire or Orange County, most of the traffic you’re likely to see is on the 105 WEST between the 110 and the Airport as that is the main detour route.  We would still recommend adding an extra hour on top of what it would normally take you to get to the airport, just in case.

Officials expect a spill over effect on all of the major freeways in the region.   Here is a map of the 405 closure alternate routes.

What are the surface street alternate routes and detours for the 405 closure?

• Sepulveda Blvd will remain open, but is expected to be heavy since it is the main detour.   Police say they will NOT be checking IDs as that would run counter to the goal of moving traffic expeditiously.
• Canyon Roads - Beverly Glen, Benedict Canyon, Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon are all expected to be heavy with people trying to find a way over the mountains.  You should stay off these roads so that residents can get in and out, especially in case of an emergency
• Topanga Cyn (27), Malibu Cyn, Kanan Rd, PCH (1) - these may also become heavy with people trying to get around the closure of the 405
• Sunset, Santa Monica, Wilshire, Pico, Olympic are all alternates to the 10, which is expected to be heavy as it is part of the main detour route.   LADOT and LAPD will attempt to adjust traffic signals to keep traffic moving.  However, as any Westsider knows, these tend to jam up soon after the freeway comes gridlocked

Additional police and fire will be positioned in the various canyons to address any traffic problems or emergency response issues.

During the 405 closure, will there be parking restrictions on any streets?

Yes.  The City of Los Angeles is setting up parking restrictions on Ventura Blvd and Sepulveda Blvd in the vicinity of the 405 and 101. 

The following are no parking and no stopping at any time zones:

• Ventura Blvd EB between Balboa and Sherman Oaks Ave
• Ventura Blvd WB between Noble and Sepulveda
• Sepulveda Blvd both directions between Greenleaf St and Valley Vista
• Sepulveda Blvd SB between Valley Vista and the 405
• Sepulveda Blvd NB between Moraga Dr and Ovada Place

The parking restrictions will be enforced starting at 12:01am on Saturday until 6am on Monday.

During the 405 closure, when will traffic be the heaviest/worst?

Doug Failing from Metro says they expect the heaviest conditions to be between 10am and 2pm, and then between 6pm and 8pm.

During the 405 closure, what is the best way to get to LAX?  What should I do if I have to pick up somebody at the airport?

Officials say that you should use the 101 and 5 freeways to the 110 and 105 freeways to access LAX.   If you’re coming from the east, try to stay as far south as possible and use the 605, 105 and 91 freeways.  However, they would really prefer that you don’t drive to the airport and instead use several other options:

1.  Ride Metrolink or Metro Rail to Union Station downtown.  From there you can pickup the Flyaway Bus to LAX.  You should add an extra 1-2 hours to your journey to accomodate expected longer travel times.

2. Ride Metro Rail to the Green Line.  Take the Green Line to LAX and use the Green Line shuttle to get in to the airport.

3. If you’re picking somebody up, have them take the Green Line from LAX to a station away from the airport and pick them up there.    They can also take the Flyaway Bus to Downtown and you can pick them up at Union Station.

Click here for Metrolink information…

Click here for Metro Rail information…

Click here for Flyaway Bus information…

During the 405 closure, will Flyaway Bus service be cancelled between the valley (Van Nuys) and LAX?

No, buses will continue to run but will detour through Downtown Los Angeles.  Again, you should start your journey to the airport 1-2 hours earlier han normal.

During the 405 closure, will there be any Metro Bus detours?

Just one bus line will be detoured - Rapid Line 761.  It will use Sepulveda Blvd instead of the 405 to get through the Sepulveda Pass. 

There will be additional service on Lines 2, 150, 534, 704, 720, 733, 761 and Metro Orange Line  However it is likely to take much longer than normal on West LA and southern San Fernando Valley services .

During the 405 closure, will there be free subway, bus, or rail service?

Metro will offer free service on the following lines

• Red Line Subway
• Purple Line Subway
• Orange Line Busway
• Bus  2, 4, 20, 33, 150, 152, 155, 156, 158, 161, 183, 224, 230, 233, 234, 236, 240, 242, 243, 244, 245, 656, 704, 720, 733, 761

When will the 405 open on Monday morning?

All lanes of the freeway should be open at 5am on Monday, July 18.  All the ramps will be open by 6am.

What happens if the 405 doesn’t open Monday morning?

This is highly unlikely, according to Metro officials.  The contractor has an hour by hour plan and benchmarks to know if they are ahead or behind.  On the off chance it does not open, Metro assures us they have contingency plans.  However, they maintain that they have no reason not to believe it won’t open at 5am.  If it does not – we’ll be here to help you through it!

Why is the 405 closing?

Metro and Caltrans have been working on a project to widen the 405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass.  This requires rebuilding the Sunset, Skirball and Mulholland bridge.  So far, they’ve been able to limit the closures to overnight while rebuilding the Sunset and Skirball bridges. 

However, because of the height and design of the Mulholland bridge along with the danger of falling debris, there was no way to safely do it overnight.  So, they’re closing it for a weekend to take down half of the bridge. 

They will move all traffic to the remaining half while they build the new half. 

In 11 months, we get to do this all over again - when they take down the other side.

I still have a question about the 405 closure – who can I ask?

We’re here to answer any of your questions regarding the closure!   Feel free to contact us via Facebook, on Twitter@TotalTrafficLA, or via email at 405@totaltrafficla.com.