transportation

From today’s LA Daily News: Officials initially hoped to shut down a segment of the San Diego (405) Freeway next month, but delays to the $1 billion project are pushing the massive closure back to August or September.  Unexpected utility work, a $300 million lawsuit and bickering with FBI representatives over security clearances are all delaying completion, Metro officials said Thursday… … A $300 million lawsuit – filed last year by a Bel Air landowner – forced Metro to move a freeway on-ramp near the Getty Museum 150 feet to the west.  …And then there’s the FBI. The agency works…

If you thought your commuter problems to UCLA would be over once the President left town this morning, consider the following from LA County Supervisor Yaroslavsky: …Long-running closures of the 405 Freeway’s Wilshire Boulevard ramps are set to begin on Friday, June 22, bringing fresh challenges to an intersection that’s already among the nation’s worst.  Anxious residents and employees in the area have been girding for the start of the ramp work for months. Some online wags have dubbed it The Rampture, while others who live nearby refer to it ominously as “the next shoe to drop.” Whatever you call it, the work…

Westside traffic around UCLA could be snarled late Thursday and Friday morning due to a visit by President Obama.  He is arriving at LAX Thursday evening at 6:20 PM and going to the house of George Clooney in Studio City.  Friday morning he goes the other way, leaving Studio City and departing LAX around 10 AM. Source: http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/05/obamajam_moves_to_unchart.php These periodic traffic jams leave a bad taste in LA, but apparently not for everyone:

Wilshire Blvd. traffic problems tonight: WILSHIRE BLVD.: Wilshire Bl eastbound 1, 2 lanes closed at Sepulveda Bl tonight, 10pm to 6am. http://t.co/U6bCOXrIWILSHIRE BLVD.: Wilshire Bl westbound 1, 2 lanes closed near Sepulveda Bl tonight, 10pm to 6am. http://t.co/EuOYUVn2 WILSHIRE BLVD.: Sepulveda Bl reduced to one lane each direction from Salvation Army facilities to Wilshire Bl tonight, 9pm to 5am. WILSHIRE BLVD.: Westbound I-10 connector to northbound I-405 closed tonight, midnight to 5am. http://t.co/jp1EJHjI WILSHIRE BLVD.: Eastbound I-10 connector to southbound I-405 closed tonight, 10pm to 9am. http://t.co/ZaMgCzdK Source: http://www.metro.net/projects/I-405/

UCLA traffic hits lowest level since 1990 By Alison Hewitt March 27, 2012 The rest of Los Angeles may seem as congested as ever, but traffic at UCLA is the lightest it’s ever been since the university began measuring more than 20 years ago. “Vehicle counts are lower now than they were in 1990, when the cordon count first began,” according to UCLA Transportation’s newly released State of the Commute annual report, which tracks all vehicles driving into and out of campus. The reduced traffic represents the success of UCLA Transportation’s focus on lowering the number of drive-alone commuters at UCLA to lighten…

All of the westbound lanes on Wilshire Boulevard will be closed at the I-405 undercrossing on the nights of March 7th (that’s tonight!), March 9th and March 19th from 10 pm until 6 am.  Best advice for night owls is to be on your merry way before 10 pm:  

…The northbound 405 will be closed from Getty Center Drive to Ventura Boulevard Saturday night as crews continue to work on rebuilding the Mulholland bridge over the freeway. Some freeway ramps in the area could begin closing as early as 7 p.m. and some lanes could be blocked beginning at 10 p.m. All northbound lanes will be closed at midnight, but the closures should be lifted by 5 a.m.   The southbound lanes between the Ventura (101) Freeway and Getty Center Drive will be closed Monday and Tuesday nights. Southbound closures are also planned on the nights of March 12 and…

It won’t be quite so bad as the picture suggests. But if you are a night owl at UCLA and use the 405, you may have a problem: The northbound 405 Freeway will be closed between Getty Center Drive and Ventura Boulevard for construction starting Tuesday night. Crews will be reconstructing the Mulholland Bridge. Ramps were expected to close as early as 7 p.m. and freeway lanes may close as early as 10 p.m. The closure could continue for several nights. The southbound side was expected to be closed in the same area beginning Saturday night. Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=resources/traffic&id=8447786

More bad traffic news if you are the type who works late at UCLA: The 405 Freeway contractor will begin demolition and reconstruction of the northern half of the Sunset Boulevard Bridge starting Monday, Oct. 31, for 12 consecutive nights. Construction work will take place between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., with bridge demolition occurring between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Demolition of columns and bents is anticipated to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 9 through Friday, Nov. 11, 2011… Full article at http://www.smmirror.com/#mode=single&view=33337 Very unsatsifying: