carmageddon - LA to shut down the 405

[Surely]

Originally Posted by satcomer

I remember that. The word went out well in advance and the city and local media did a great job on advising people. Wonder why L.A. Is having such a problem managing this since it is one of the three media capitals of the USA.

Just curious as to why you think LA is having a problem managing this upcoming event?

I live here, and it seems to be organized well enough.

[LethalWolfe]

Originally Posted by Mac'nCheese

I don't see one lane helping that much unless you also add longer ramps to ease the flow of traffic on and off the highway.

The overpasses and on/of ramps are being redone as well. It looks like they are going to address the traffic flow bottlenecks as best they can given the confines of the current street layout and that they are working in a mountain pass.


Lethal

[Doctor Q]

Just as we're preparing for the terrible traffic to come, they decided to work on the 110-10 interchange and shut it down last night. A pre-Carmageddon traffic snarl in all directions. You'd like they'd let us enjoy our last 24 hours of driving freedom. But nooooooooooooo.

* * *

I haven't been able to find a schedule of the actual demolition work. If I could, I'd be tempted to stake out a spot in the hills above the freeway to watch and take photos.

Anybody know if there will be webcams watching the bridge, or what time they expect the rain of concrete to start?

[Doctor Q]

Found it myself!

At approximately 2 a.m. Saturday morning, workers will use a large diamond-bladed saw to cut the bridge top deck and soffit to safely demolish the southern half while keeping the northern half structurally sound. Workers also will cut slots in the southern side of the bridge to quicken the demolition process. During demolition work, workers will perform vibration monitoring and other tests to ensure the structural integrity of the northern side of the bridge is retained at all times.

At approximately 5 a.m. Saturday morning, as many as four “hoe rams,” or rolling jack hammers of various sizes will begin to chip away at the south side of the bridge. Approximately 4,000 tons of concrete will be removed in the first phase of demolition work. Two Hoe rams will be stationed on the bridge deck starting in the center working toward each end. Once they have reached the ends of the bridge, two hoe rams will begin to work on the ground also starting in the center and working toward both ends. These giant and powerful demolition machines will deliver between 1,200 and 7,500 foot-pounds of power to break away concrete from the bridge. This compares to 90 foot-pounds delivered by a common hand-held jack hammer. Operators in these machines will be able to deliver between 300 and 600 blows per minute on the concrete decking to break pieces into sizes no bigger than a basketball or microwave oven which can then be easily hauled away from the demolition site. Later, the concrete will be pulverized and recycled. The bridge’s railing will also be taken down by hoe-ram. Front-end loaders will also be used during the demolition to load demolition debris into trucks.

While the hoe rams steadily chip away at the concrete, other workers using long-handled oxygen/acetylene torches will cut the steel rebar from the bridge deck amid a crackle of sparks. Workers will be tied to a secure anchor and will be wearing fall protection equipment as they work. Workers will continue to cut the rebar into smaller pieces on the ground so that it can also be recycled.

This demolition work is expected to last throughout Sunday, July 17 as crews also demolish the bride’s south columns, leaving the other two columns in-tact to support the north side of the bridge.

My biggest concern is that the Executive Director of Highway Projects is named "Doug Failing".

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by jessica.

THIS
I love how ****ing sensationalized it is.

Agreed, the media is blowing this way out of proportion.

[Doctor Q]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Agreed, the media is blowing this way out of proportion.

I like the stories of panicked restaurant owners. Westside restaurant owners are supposedly worried because customers from the valley won't be able to get there. And valley restaurant owners are supposedly worried because customers from the westside won't be able to get there. Isn't there a scientific law about the "conservation of dining out" that proves that more local customers will come to their restaurants for the very same reason?

[RawBert]

A woman was interviewed saying she's worried that she might run out of diapers for her kid.
That's..... OMG!!!! This is what we see on the local LA news, folks. Holy crap!

[LethalWolfe]

Originally Posted by RawBert

A woman was interviewed saying she's worried that she might run out of diapers for her kid.
That's..... OMG!!!! This is what we see on the local LA news, folks. Holy crap!

At least it's not supposed to rain this weekend. StormWatch 2011 + Carmageddon = chaos the likes of which mankind has never witnessed before!


Lethal

[Alaerian]

They are covering this hardcore in Colorado.

We're not even CLOSE to California. I couldn't care less about the 405, wherever it is.

[dukebound85]

Originally Posted by Alaerian

They are covering this hardcore in Colorado.

We're not even CLOSE to California. I couldn't care less about the 405, wherever it is.

Really? I haven't heard about it aside from this thread here in CO, though haven't really watched alot of news either haha but I try to stay on top of things

[Surely]

Wooo! Carmageddon!



I took this photo (while stopped) driving east on Ventura Blvd at around 7:30pm. That's the 405 overpass ahead....the ramps were closed, but there was still residual traffic on the highway.

Earlier, I drove up Laurel Canyon Drive from Hollywood to Studio City at 6pm. It only took 15 minutes. I was shocked that it was so quick. I really expected it to take 30-45 minutes, as I figured it would be used as a route for people trying to avoid the 405.

I think the media coverage has worked...at least for tonight. There was very little traffic.....I think everyone decided to stay home.

My mother and sister were interviewed earlier in the day (so, what are you going to do while the 405 is closed?) by a news crew as they were leaving a store..... .

[Doctor Q]

What's O.J. going to do if he wants to drive his Bronco to Brentwood?

[wordoflife]

Originally Posted by Alaerian

They are covering this hardcore in Colorado.

We're not even CLOSE to California. I couldn't care less about the 405, wherever it is.

Same here in Florida.
They keep stressing how "It is VERY surprising that people are even walking in LA!!!!!!!" ... So, I guess people don't really do that there. Hmm.

I hate local news (not because of this, but because of a variety of things).

[bradl]

Originally Posted by dmr727

Rent a plane from Van Nuys to Santa Monica.

To go along that tangent, Jetblue did offer $4 airfare for LGB - BUR each way, if you wanted to avoid it altogether.. those tickets sold out FAST as well.

BL.

[iJohnHenry]

Originally Posted by bradl

To go along that tangent, Jetblue did offer $4 airfare for LGB - BUR each way, if you wanted to avoid it altogether.. those tickets sold out FAST as well.

Hawaiians have been using planes as busses for a long time.

Up, almost level off, back down. Excellent.

EDIT: I fully expected, even anticipated, horror stories.

This is, so far, a non-event.

[Mac'nCheese]

Originally Posted by iJohnHenry

Hawaiians have been using planes as busses for a long time.

Up, almost level off, back down. Excellent.

EDIT: I fully expected, even anticipated, horror stories.

This is, so far, a non-event.

Its a good example of how the media can't win. If they hadn't made such a big deal out of this, far fewer people would have known about the shut down and there would have been a huge traffic jam. 10 miles of the 405 shut down would have caused major traffic if the normal amount of traffic flowed today. However, the media made a big story out of this, made sure everyone knew about it and people did the right thing. They stayed off of the 405, used other routes, stayed home, went to neighbor hood restaurants/shops/friends etc instead of driving a bit to further away places. And now since there is no major jam, everyone is saying the media blew this out of proportion. That's like saying the media blew getting small pox out of proportion and why did everyone have to get vaccines since after all, do you know anyone who got smallpox lately?

[iJohnHenry]

Originally Posted by Mac'nCheese

<yadda, yadda, yadda>

That is all well and good, but my schadenfreude is unsatisfied.

Who do I see about that? The media?

[Mac'nCheese]

Originally Posted by iJohnHenry

That is all well and good, but my schadenfreude is unsatisfied.

Who do I see about that? The media?

So, you wanted to see a mess? Yes, I guess then you can blame them for helping to avoid one.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by Mac'nCheese

Its a good example of how the media can't win. If they hadn't made such a big deal out of this, far fewer people would have known about the shut down and there would have been a huge traffic jam. 10 miles of the 405 shut down would have caused major traffic if the normal amount of traffic flowed today. However, the media made a big story out of this, made sure everyone knew about it and people did the right thing. They stayed off of the 405, used other routes, stayed home, went to neighbor hood restaurants/shops/friends etc instead of driving a bit to further away places. And now since there is no major jam, everyone is saying the media blew this out of proportion. That's like saying the media blew getting small pox out of proportion and why did everyone have to get vaccines since after all, do you know anyone who got smallpox lately?

You can report on things with out blowing them out of proportion which the media did.

[Doctor Q]

You've never seen the 405 freeway like this! (It's a woman driving south in the mostly-closed section just south of the work area.)

In a normal weekend about half a million cars pass through this section.

They've arrested at least half a dozen people for biking or, in one case, skateboarding on the closed section. The skateboarder was in the fast lane!

[Tiggs]

Originally Posted by bradl

To go along that tangent, Jetblue did offer $4 airfare for LGB - BUR each way, if you wanted to avoid it altogether.. those tickets sold out FAST as well.

BL.

Heh, they did it for $4.05 exactly. Killer deal though, cheap way to get frequent flier miles

[Chip NoVaMac]

Originally Posted by Mac'nCheese

Its a good example of how the media can't win. If they hadn't made such a big deal out of this, far fewer people would have known about the shut down and there would have been a huge traffic jam. 10 miles of the 405 shut down would have caused major traffic if the normal amount of traffic flowed today. However, the media made a big story out of this, made sure everyone knew about it and people did the right thing. They stayed off of the 405, used other routes, stayed home, went to neighbor hood restaurants/shops/friends etc instead of driving a bit to further away places. And now since there is no major jam, everyone is saying the media blew this out of proportion. That's like saying the media blew getting small pox out of proportion and why did everyone have to get vaccines since after all, do you know anyone who got smallpox lately?

I mentioned something along the same line here in the DC area with a "major' shut down of the Wilson Bridge (I95/I495) some years ago... We were promised 30+ mile backups due to the construction needed.

None really happened due to the media hype... People stayed away and made other plans... The shane of it is that it will have to be redone in a year or two for the other lanes - why not take the pain and do it at once?

[Doctor Q]

Best Carmageddon video:

[Doctor Q]

With so many people staying home today, our freeways were mostly empty, but something filled the void. Police attempted to stop a reckless driver on Winnetka Avenue in the San Fernando Valley. Turns out he was a parolee who might have reached his 3rd strike. He took off and led the highway patrol and police on a high-speed chase, 80 to 85 mph at times. He started by getting on the 101 Freeway, then drove from freeway to freeway to freeway, never getting stuck in a traffic jam.

Those who know L.A. can try to follow this on the map. He drove from the 101 South (which is really East) to the 10 East to the 605 South to the 60 East to the 15 South, got off at Norco, did a U-turn, got back on the 15 North, to the 210 East, got off at Sierra (where police failed to carry out a pit maneuver), ran some red lights, got back on the 210 West, to the 15 South, to the 10 West, to the 5 South, to the 60 East, to the 710 South, to the 105 West, to the 110 North, to the 5 North.

Just about the only freeway he didn't take was the 405!

Going up the 5 he drove through Santa Clarita past Magic Mountain and Castaic, then into what's called the grapevine. Police finally managed to stop him with a spike strip and he and a female passenger surrendered. It's amazing his Hyundai didn't run out of gas before then. Total pursuit time: About 3 hours 15 minutes. Nobody hurt, thank goodness.

[einmusiker]

Originally Posted by Mac'nCheese

I thought, growing up on Long Island and now living in NJ, that I knew what bad traffic was. Then I visited San Diego and LA. Unbelievable. At one point, there were two highways next to each other, six lanes each, packed in both directions. I can't imagine what it will be like in 50 years. They have to invent flying cars or build some smart monorails or something to save you guys.

Yah, I live in manhattan and drive all over north jersey and hudson valley. NOTHING compared to chicago or LA. Ive heard dallas can get bad too