LOS ANGELES (AP) — So far Southern California's fears that shutting down a major highway would result in "Carmageddon" have gone unrealized. But drivers haven't steered clear of trouble just yet.
The traffic many thought would be a nightmare has been much lighter than normal as Los Angeles entered the second full day Sunday in the closure of a 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 405 — one of the country's busiest highways.
Officials were elated that the public appeared to get the message to stay off the roads, though some were concerned the lack of gridlock would make drivers complacent and spur them to return to the road before Monday's scheduled reopening.
"We hope they still listen to what we're saying and not go out and try to drive through this area, because it is going to be congested if people do that," said Mike Miles, a district director of the California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans.
Authorities closed the segment of 405 on the western side of Los Angeles at midnight Friday for 53 hours to allow the partial demolition of a bridge.
For weeks, authorities warned people that driving as usual this weekend could trigger what's been hyped as "Carmageddon" — an event could back up vehicles from the 405 to surface streets and other freeways, causing a domino effect that could paralyze much of Los Angeles
But the fears of epic traffic jams dissipated with fewer cars on the roads.
"It's been one of the most quiet Saturdays I've seen in forever," said Steven Ramada, who had expected to hear lots of cars honking in front of his Sherman Oaks home but instead only heard news helicopters.
Demolition work is expected to be completed by 2 a.m. Monday, followed by cleanup and reopening of the freeway at 5 a.m., with on-ramps and connectors all reopened by an hour later.
Project contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West will face a $6,000 fine in each direction for every 10 minutes of delay in getting the freeway reopened, according to the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That's a total of $72,000 an hour.
Progress on demolition of the half-century-old Mulholland Bridge was on schedule, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
Authorities looking at the potential impacts of the $1 billion interstate project spent months giving the public dire warnings. The event got its name when Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told an early June press conference that "this doesn't need to be a Carmageddon" if people avoided driving.
The potential for Carmageddon is rooted in Los Angeles' geography. The city is divided by the Santa Monica Mountains, which stretch more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) from near downtown westward through Malibu. The populous San Fernando Valley lies on the north side, and the Los Angeles Basin sprawls to the south.
Local and long-distance freeway traffic through the mountains has to squeeze through Sepulveda Pass on I-405 or through Cahuenga Pass, which carries U.S. 101 through the heart of Hollywood. In between there is no grid of boulevards, just a few narrow, windy canyon roads.
Major interchanges on both sides of Sepulveda Pass exacerbate the crunch.
The drumbeat of warnings about the weekend triggered an instant industry of businesses trying to capitalize. JetBlue offered special flights from Burbank in the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach, with seats for the short hop costing just $4 or $5.
A cycling group saw that as an opportunity for a race. The cyclists started their ride 90 minutes before the flight's departure time to simulate the time that passengers would have to arrive at Burbank. Another member of the group took the flight and all were to meet at a Long Beach park.
Cyclist Stephan Andranian said it took the bikers one hour and 34 minutes to complete the ride from Burbank to Long Beach, largely following the Los Angeles River. Flight passenger Joe Anthony's total travel time including cab ride from Long Beach Airport to the park was just over 2 1/2 hours.
"We want to show that using a bike in LA is not only possible but that it can be faster than other modes of transportation," Andranian said.
Many mocked the frenzied language surrounding the closure, especially on Twitter, where Hollywood's comedians had at their hometown.
"How's everyone coping with this terrifying apocalyptic nightmare of having to ... oh my god ... stay home with your family?!!!" Bill Maher wrote.
Albert Brooks took was more philosophical in his Tweet: "If we would close the freeways every weekend we would have a great society."
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