'Carmageddon' officially on in Los Angeles

By the CNN Wire Staff
UPDATED: 09:04 AM EDT 07.16.11

It's what you don't see on the "Carmageddon" webcam that's got Los Angeles all in a dither this weekend.

With a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 405 closed for the demolition of a bridge section, officials expected to learn Saturday whether drivers heeded their advice: Stay away from the area, take transit and don't cause traffic jams by getting on roads not deemed preferred alternate routes.

The closure of the freeway mountain highway pass in the heart of the nation's second-largest city made for a surreal scene overnight -- a stretch of freeway without any traffic.

It is expected to remain that way for about 53 hours.

CNN affiliate KABC featured a webcam chronicling the progress of the bridge demolition.

Crews closed ramps late Friday on Interstate 405, where it passes over the Santa Monica Mountains, California Department of Transportation officials said.

By midnight, "Carmageddon" was officially on.

The $1.2 billion construction project calls for replacing a portion of a bridge at Mulholland Drive, a mountain summit road that is featured in many Hollywood films, authorities said. A year from now, crews will have to shut down the 405 again to replace a final portion of the Mulholland Drive bridge, officials said.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said officials carried out "an unprecedented" public awareness campaign urging motorists to stay off the road or use public transportation.

"It doesn't have to be 'Carmageddon.' That's why we have done so much outreach to the public," the mayor said.

The weekend construction project should be completed by 5 a.m. Monday, to accommodate the morning rush hour, officials said.

The project also calls for adding a car-pool lane in each direction, creating "the largest HOV system in the world" at 48.6 miles in length between the San Fernando Valley and Orange County, said Mike Miles, the California Department of Transportation's director for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

The two-year project will replace two more bridges, also to accommodate the widening of the 405, and will improve about two dozen on-off ramps and add 18 miles of sound-deadening walls for nearby residents, Miles said.

"This is a big project that is much needed, and it will be a great benefit to the public," Miles said.

Rendered desolate over the weekend are a 10-mile stretch of all five northbound lanes and a four-mile stretch of all five southbound lanes, officials said.

The 405 is usually one of the busiest freeways in the country, carrying about 500,000 cars a day through the Sepulveda Pass, a critical artery connecting Southern Californians to destinations up the coast. The 405 achieved notoriety on national television as the corridor that former NFL player O.J. Simpson used as he was being slowly chased by police in 1994.

The highway also cuts through the west side of Los Angeles, an area that includes the high-status communities of Bel Air, Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

Whether it has been overdramatized by locals in the nation's entertainment capital, the project has brought countdown clocks, traffic apps, detour maps and warnings to stay away or enjoy the weekend on the couch. Amtrak and JetBlue are offering specials to get away from it all.

"Severe traffic conditions are anticipated in local and regional areas during the weekend of the full freeway closure," Metro warned on its website.

The four-mile southbound section is closed between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive ramps. The 10-mile northbound section is closed between U.S. 101 and Interstate 10.

Los Angeles International Airport is urging travelers to get there by public transit, especially rail, or to stay at nearby hotels for early morning flights.

There is an app, or several, for "Carmageddon."

KABC has partnered with Waze to help navigate the traffic.

"The app provides free turn-by-turn GPS navigation based on the live conditions of the road," the station said.

Celebrities are even tweeting -- cheekily -- about this weekend's affront to the Los Angeles driving experience.

Twitter titan and actor Ashton Kutcher has gotten into the act: "LAPD askd me 2tweet: 405fwy btwn 10 & 101 will b closed July16-17. In xchange I would like a free pass on that stoplight tickt IT WAS YELLOW."

When shown a copy of the tweet while he was being interviewed on CNN, the mayor laughed about the request to fix the ticket. "No, thank you, Ashton," Villaraigosa said.

From CNN.com