"To be very blunt, I think we're trying to scare the heck out of everybody, with good reason. This is not a phony scare," said L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
For 53 hours, the 405 Freeway will close between the 101 and 10 freeways. The closure starts at 10 p.m. on Friday, July 15 and ends early Monday morning, July 18.
See a live cam shot of the Mulholland Bridge construction site.
"This project should probably be renamed the nightmare on the 405. Everyone is going to be impacted," said Metrolink board chair Richard Katz.
The freeway is being closed to demolish half of the Mulholland Drive Bridge and prepare it for a carpool lane on the northbound side of the 405.
"This is going to be a closure unlike anything we've ever seen in this area. Think of China and what you've seen on TV, where they have nine-day long traffic closures on their freeways. It's going to be like that for two days," said L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged commuters to use a different route during the closure.
"Take an alternative route or ride the Metro subway for free that weekend. Extra buses will be added on the Orange Line, Sunset, Santa Monica, Fairfax and Ventura boulevards," Villaraigosa said.
Sepulveda Boulevard will be open only to residents. Emergency crews will be allowed access to the freeways, but everyone else was urged to stay away.
"I'm actually thinking of just getting out of town completely, just to avoid the whole thing," said Susan Boorujy of Burbank.
Beat Carmageddon with ABC7
The 405 shuts down the weekend of July 16-17, and ABC7 Eyewitness News is your home for the latest traffic news and information. Follow @abc7 and @BeatCarmageddon on Twitter, and use the hash tag #abc7traffic.
ABC7 has also partnered with Waze to help navigate the traffic. Download the Waze app, which provides free turn-by-turn GPS navigation based on the live conditions of the road. Join the community of drivers in Southern California today and beat Carmageddon.
