Community Corner

Free Red Line Rides Being Offered on 'The Mother of All Traffic Jams' Weekend

With the 405 shutting down for an entire weekend in July, the city is doing what it can to ease the expected transportation stress.

When the San Diego (405) Freeway is closed for over 53 hours of construction in mid-July, free subway rides will be offered on the Red Line subway, which provides service for West Hollywood residents through the Mid-Wilshire area, Hollywood, Downtown LA and the San Fernando Valley, Metro officials reported Sunday.

The transit agency and Caltrans need to close the 405 starting the night of July 15 to demolish part of a landmark bridge that stands in the way of a $1.3 billion widening project.

A news conference is planned for Monday to announce details about how
Angelenos and tourists can use public transit during the Friday-through-Monday
morning closure.

Find out what's happening in West Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Closure of the busiest north-south artery in L.A. for an entire weekend is expected to create massive traffic problems north and south of the Hollywood Hills, which bifurcate the city.

Major stress is expected on other freeways, particularly near Dodger Stadium and in the Studio City/North Hollywood area. Two-lane routes across the hills, like Topanga, Benedict and Laurel canyons, are also expected to be jammed.

Find out what's happening in West Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And because the closure will extend as far south as the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, major jams can be expected on the Westside, including West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and even Malibu.

Metro plans to run extra buses on major east-west streets, like Ventura, Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards. Although regular fares will be collected on buses, they will connect to the free Red Line trains for access across the mountains that separate the San Fernando Valley from Hollywood and the rest of L.A.

Sepulveda Boulevard, which runs through the construction zone, will be reserved for residents of the immediate Sepulveda Pass area only.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky predicts "the potential of the mother of all traffic jams" and said anyone who thinks they know a shortcut across the mountains should "save your gas."

"I know virtually every shortcut in these parts, and none will work because of the sheer volume of vehicles being taken off the freeway," he said in his blog.

City News Service contributed to this story.


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