Westside Drivers to Face More 405 Closures, Construction This Weekend

By City News Service

Demolition of the Sunset Boulevard offramp from the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway will start at 7 p.m., but that will be just one of several traffic obstacles facing drivers on the Westside this weekend.

The Sunset offramp will be closed until at least Thanksgiving, leaving Sepulveda Boulevard as the major detour.

But for parts of this weekend, Sepulveda Boulevard will also be closed, as the old offramp overpass is torn out. The surface street will be closed at 10 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, to reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday.

"We have a a multitude of construction tasks to complete during the overnight closures of the boulevard," Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said.

Starting at 10 p.m. tonight, Sunset Boulevard will be closed over the 405 and one block east, to Thurston Avenue, as new lighting and signals are installed and Sunset is repaved. One lane will reopen at 7 a.m. Saturday, but the second eastbound lane will be blocked until 4 p.m.

Traffic on Sepulveda is expected to be heavy for months, and will get worse when the nearby eastbound Wilshire Boulevard onramp to the northbound 405 will be closed starting Aug. 22.

Erika Estrada, Metro's construction relations officer, said Wilshire traffic will be directed by signs to use the Santa Monica Boulevard onramp to the northbound freeway.

And Estrada warned that crews need to dig holes to support embankments and bridge supports along Sepulveda near Sunset, which will block some lanes on Sepulveda during the month of August.

Metro is managing the $1 billion project to rebuild and widen 10 miles of the 60-year-freeway, between the Ventura (101) and Santa Monica (10) freeways, in cooperation with Caltrans.