This weekend was going to be IT. Carmageddon, endearingly known as the predicted havoc due to closing down a section of one of our busiest freeways in Los Angeles, was going to paralyze LA this weekend.
Los Angeles public officials announced the closure about 3 months ago setting off a frenzy that rivaled “The Rapture”. Traffic backed up 50 miles was threatened. I know someone whose wedding was canceled by the venue due to the closure. My mom, who had planned to fly into LAX this weekend, changed her flight in order to not get stuck on the 405. Many people were outraged that the closures were on a weekend because it would have been so much better during weekday rush hour traffic. It was going to be a MESS!
Since I am a rule follower, I normally would have stayed close to home this weekend. But as it happened, I had made plans months ago to meet up with some friends in Pasadena. There is no need to take the 405 freeway from my house, but a pass right by it is necessary. Only a few miles away from the closure, there was a possibility that I would face a traffic nightmare.
The reality was SHOCKING! 
There was less traffic than there usually is, EVER! It seems as if most Angelenos heeded the advice and just stayed home.
Which was great! We enjoyed a gorgeous day in Pasadena.
First meeting up at the Norton Simon Museum. 
Then on to some shopping along Colorado Blvd. 
As with most events, the media blows them out of proportion and leaves many panic stricken. Lucky for us, Carmageddon was no exception.
Haha. That is shockingly awesome! Got to love the media!
ReplyDeleteBut they are waiting another bloody year before they remove the other bit of the overpass. What's with that eh. Surely 'twould be far better to pull the tooth and have done with it, this is just torturing the people.
ReplyDelete1 van G; 4 a Picasso, 2 Mondrian and 3 a Kahlo de Rivera ?.
To be honest I think the ornate frame to the van G is an error.
Ha, looked it up. It's a Modigliani. This tinternit is brill.
ReplyDeleteI even read an article about "carmageddon" in last week's newspaper (here in Belgium). Glad it turned out completely different for you. Sounds like you had a fantastic day!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. But I have to say I thought the word "Carmageddon" was pretty darn funny.
ReplyDelete@Vince - I know, why not just take two weekends or even one this month and one next month and get it done. They couldn't block it during the week because that WOULD be a nightmare, but really I think another weekend in the near future before fall would be quite appropriate.
ReplyDeleteGlad you checked out the Modigliani. In addition to the Rivera, that is probably my most favorite in the museum, even though it's a terribly sad story. I'm a member at the NS and enjoy all the pieces very much.
@Meyser - Thanks for stopping by today. Yes, it was far better than predicted. The best part of all the media coverage was the guy who skateboarded down the empty 405just to say he had done it.
ReplyDeletehttp://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8254962
Brillant!
It was a very nice day.
@Jason - Clever indeed.
ReplyDelete...thankfully it went well...I am so happy I am done with the S.F. to L.A. drive every weekend to work on my mom's house.... a year of that was enough!
ReplyDeleteHappy Summer!
They have to do the work in two parts because they have to leave half of the Mulholland bridge in place (two traffic lanes) while they construct half of the replacement bridge. The closure was only for the demolition (although they wisely scheduled a lot of other defeered maintenance work on other parts of the freeway during the closure). Constructing the falsework, setting the rebar and setting up the forms takes time and then, to top it all off, concrete cures at its own rate (even with admixtures and special mixes). Because the bridge is in a canyon , there are limited staging areas for construction. Everything has to go like clockwork to reopen on time. It sounds as though it did and the forebearance of all of you made it work.
ReplyDelete@M - Oh my, that was a long drive every weekend.
ReplyDelete@Will - That makes perfect sense. All did run smoothly and they opened it 17 hours early! Yay LA!
@Lacy - Your comment just came through, how weird. I know it was great after all the scary news reports!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you had no problems. And I feel your pain in regards to traffic. I mean, just this morning, my usual 4 minute drive down Green steet turned into 6 minutes thanks to a slow squirrel and a fat pigeon in the road. I was in a line of at least three cars. Oh the Wait! Ugh! m.
ReplyDeleteThey made a big deal about your Carmageddon here in Texas! They love pickin on CA. My grandparents lived right off Colorado Blvd back in the 50s. I miss it and them.
ReplyDeleteIt turned out traffic was light all over the southland. It was good to have the advanced warning and people in California aren't stupid. I love it that it turned into a non-event for the media,
ReplyDeleteI love Pasadena. We had an easy breezy time getting home too.
ReplyDeleteYou were brave to plunge right into Carmageddon. We have our own version of "Carmegeddon" every weekend here. It's called Route 1 (Coastal Highway), that goes directly into Rehoboth Beach. Try riding down that road 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon. It's a parking lot. I'm glad you had a stress free trip to your friends in Pasadena. And yes, the media usually blows things way out of proportion. They did it again.
ReplyDelete