Construction crews recently began clearing trees and grubbing plants on a portion I-405 located near Brentwood.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, workers with the Metro and California Department of Transportation are expected to be removing greenery from on and off-ramps loops on the southbound section of the interstate north and south of Wilshire Boulevard until the week of May 10.
The four weeks of construction work are part of the billion dollar I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project, which kicked off in mid-January with pre-construction work.
The three- year undertaking is a collaborative effort between Metro and Caltrans that will add a 10-mile high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane on northbound I-405 from the Santa Monica Freeway to the Ventura Freeway.
Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero said when the revamping of the interstate is complete in 2013 a HOV lane will be added to the only portion of the freeway that is without a carpool lane.
“When it is completed you will be able to go from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley on a dedicated carpool lane,†he said. “It will improve traffic-flow on the northbound I-405 by removing multiple passenger vehicles in the mixed flow lanes. That gives them their own lane and creates an incentive for the use of carpooling, vanpooling and public transit.â€
During the clearing and grubbing portion of the project, workmen will be uprooting bush and shrubs from the freeway’s entrances and exits nightly from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
On April 19, workers placed temporary K-rail along the inside shoulder of the on and off-ramp loops to shield drivers from the workmen, and began loading construction equipment into the area.
Sotero said the massive project is in the preconstruction phase.
“We’ve been restriping portions of the northbound freeway, doing some potholing work, some key rail placement, utility underground work at Sepulveda Boulevard,†he said, “and a number of other activities that are in advance of major construction work that is coming up fairly soon.â€
The project, which is one of the biggest in the region, includes the construction of 18 miles of sound and retaining wall, the widening of 13 existing underpasses and structures and the realignment of 27 on and off-ramps.
The project also features the removal and reconstruction of three bridges – Skirball Center Drive, Mullholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard.
Forty percent of the Los Angeles County’s 533-mile freeway system has carpool lanes. One Hundred and forty-four miles of HOV lanes are under construction or in the planning or design process.
Sotero said adding the HOV lane between I-101 and I-10 will fix a critical gap.
“There is a southbound HOV lane through that corridor, but there is no return HOV lane northbound,†he said. “This project will fix that.â€
Sotero also said the project will have several other benefits including the improvement of air quality and job creation.
“There will be improved mobility by taking the multiple passenger vehicles off of the mixed-flow lanes, an opportunity for public transit vehicles will be created and lane widths will be standardized,†he said. “The lanes won’t get larger and smaller.â€
