7/16/2011 01:45:00 AM
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Carmaggedon' in Los Angeles: $1 Billion Freeway Plan Causes 53-hour Closure
"Carmaggedon" is almost here—and Los Angeles is on tenterhooks.
The much-ballyhooed shutdown of a 10-mile stretch of the 405 freeway--used on a typical weekend by half a million motorists-- starts at midnight Friday and continues until early Monday. In a city where walking is weird and public transportation an afterthought, the closure has sparked anxiety and generated huge publicity.
It has its own Facebook page, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project, and Twitter-savvy celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Tom Hanks have tweeted to warn drivers to stay home.
"Avoid Carmageddon, Gas-zilla, 405-enstein, Grid-lock-apalooza! STAY HOME. Eat & shop local! Hanx," urged Hanks. Kutcher, a regular tweeter, joked: "LAPD askd me 2tweet: 405fwy btwn 10 & 101 will b closed July16-17. In xchange I would like a free pass on that stoplight tickt IT WAS YELLOW."
As Hanks' tweet shows, Twitter is awash in punny names for Carmaggedon, which was coined by a radio personality—like "autodammerung" or "carpocalypse."
He is planning on spending much of the weekend in the emergency operations center downtown. "I think the preparation has gone extremely well," he said. "Most people understand that the guaranteed way to avoid aggravation is to not be in your car."
He said LA residents are organizing block parties and barbecues and are stocking up on DVDs for a weekend staycation. "Everybody's going to do it their own way."
Residents are being offered some creative alternatives to driving on the 405--one of the busiest freeways in the U.S. and famous nationwide for the police chase of O.J. Simpson, who was suspected of murdering his wife, in 1994 along its route. Jet Blue on Wednesday announced two flights from Burbank to Long Beach, a distance of 34 miles. Ticket price: a low-budget $4 each way for a round-trip traveller. They sold out in three hours.Read more...
The much-ballyhooed shutdown of a 10-mile stretch of the 405 freeway--used on a typical weekend by half a million motorists-- starts at midnight Friday and continues until early Monday. In a city where walking is weird and public transportation an afterthought, the closure has sparked anxiety and generated huge publicity.
It has its own Facebook page, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening Project, and Twitter-savvy celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Tom Hanks have tweeted to warn drivers to stay home.
"Avoid Carmageddon, Gas-zilla, 405-enstein, Grid-lock-apalooza! STAY HOME. Eat & shop local! Hanx," urged Hanks. Kutcher, a regular tweeter, joked: "LAPD askd me 2tweet: 405fwy btwn 10 & 101 will b closed July16-17. In xchange I would like a free pass on that stoplight tickt IT WAS YELLOW."
As Hanks' tweet shows, Twitter is awash in punny names for Carmaggedon, which was coined by a radio personality—like "autodammerung" or "carpocalypse."
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County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes the closure area, has a countdown clock on his website anticipating the shutdown to the second.
He is planning on spending much of the weekend in the emergency operations center downtown. "I think the preparation has gone extremely well," he said. "Most people understand that the guaranteed way to avoid aggravation is to not be in your car."
He said LA residents are organizing block parties and barbecues and are stocking up on DVDs for a weekend staycation. "Everybody's going to do it their own way."
Residents are being offered some creative alternatives to driving on the 405--one of the busiest freeways in the U.S. and famous nationwide for the police chase of O.J. Simpson, who was suspected of murdering his wife, in 1994 along its route. Jet Blue on Wednesday announced two flights from Burbank to Long Beach, a distance of 34 miles. Ticket price: a low-budget $4 each way for a round-trip traveller. They sold out in three hours.Read more...
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