The southbound lanes of the freeway were shut down Saturday night between the 101 Freeway and Getty Center Drive. Lanes were supposed to open at 9 a.m. Sunday, but crews were able to lift the closure about two hours earlier than planned.
Though the early reopening is good news for commuters, construction is far from over. The northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway will close during the same hours on the weekend of Sept. 15. The Mulholland Bridge over the freeway will be closed Friday night through Sunday morning.
These closures are needed to set up for the work that will take place during Carmageddon II over the weekend of Sept. 29. That weekend, both sides of the 405 Freeway between the 10 and the 101 freeways will close for 53 hours for demolition work on the south side of the Mulholland Bridge.
Half of the Mulholland Bridge has already been torn down during the first phase of Carmageddon. The remaining part of the bridge is one of the last obstructions on the 405 for the widening project to add a new carpool lane. Metro is managing the $1 billion project, which is aimed at improving the traffic flow on the busy stretch of freeway.
Officials said they are a few months behind schedule on the 405 Freeway project, but they still believe they will have the bulk of it completed before the end of next year.
For more information on the project and closures, visit the website for the Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project.
