Carmageddon

[Zeke]

Weird. Just tell LA there is gonna be an epic traffic jam and they stay away.
Tomorrow (Monday) there will be an epic traffic jam.

[techweenie]

I doubt that, Milt. I believe the closure could end early tomorrow, based on the speed with which the section of bridge was demoed.

[Neilk]

So good luck when they close the highway next time. Everyone will think that the first time was completely overblown and that will bring on the real Carmageddon...

[nostatic]

Not necessarily. Same thing happened during the Olympics. The "media" hyped traffic and the city advised people to stay off the streets. And they did.

Will be interesting to see if today is more crowded. I just dropped my g/f off at LAX and there was zero traffic - but 8:30am on Sunday normally is light. I'm betting today will be a little more busy as more venture out. I was about to head to Zuma but then thought better of trying to get back on PCH later in the day. We'll maybe just head 10 blocks west and surf there

[Radioactive]

KTLA News

7:13 a.m. PDT, July 17, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) -- Crews finished their demolition work on the Mulholland Bridge Sunday morning and are now starting cleanup efforts and officials say the 405 freeway will be re-opened today.

Demolition crews finished just before 7 a.m., according to Caltrans officials. Two massive pylons have been toppled by heavy equipment, hours ahead of schedule.

The freeway should be re-opened to traffic between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

[nostatic]

I wonder what their incentive bonus was.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I wonder what their incentive bonus was.

Probably huge. They had something like a $12k every 10 minutes penalty for being late on it. Remember when the state had a private contractor rebuild the LaCienega bridge after the Northridge EQ? They got a $200k per day early completion bonus and used some quick-setting concrete that apparently no one at CALTRANS knows about, finishing 74 days ahead of schedule.

The state gov. had initially said that the I-10 would be closed for a year to fix it, that wound-up being a month(?) or something...

CTS Cement — Project Profile — I-10 Earthquake Repairs

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by techweenie

I doubt that, Milt. I believe the closure could end early tomorrow, based on the speed with which the section of bridge was demoed.

I just meant "back to usual."

[mikester]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I wonder what their incentive bonus was.

In the LA Times the other day it said there was no incentive bonus - just the penalty bonuses of like $6000 per minute each way (so $12000 per minute) if it wasn't opened up on time.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by milt

I just meant "back to usual."

Oddly, I know a guy who drives every day on the 405 South from the 118 to the 10. I just can't comprehend that kind of pain. I used to drive from the Mulholland intersection to Long Beach and it was never less than awful

They reopened the section over an hour ago, as I understand it. That probably means the "big bang" some were expecting at 6AM tomorrow will be avoided.

I have to agree, this experience may diminish cooperation for the next closure.

[mikester]

I think the next closure will be fine. Personally - I will take this at face value. A Government program was executed well and ended well - the only question I have is how much did it cost overall.

I know a guy who for the last 20 years has come from Northridge to El Segundo that is north of the 101 by about 10 miles to where the 105 and 405 meet. Every day.

I don't know how he does it.

Personally, I go down to Irvine via the 405 from El Segundo a couple of times a week and I also go up to Pasadena and out to Thousand Oaks. Going south isn't usually that bad off peak but going through town down to get to Pasadena is always backed up and going north on the 405 to get to Thousand Oaks is always a pain.

[Zeke]

It was $6000 per ten minutes per side. I wonder how they come up with a figure like that?

[slodave]

I hear the 405 is open now. Time for an early grid lock!

[RWebb]

rather than just putting in bigger bus bars all the time, why don't they just switch to optical?

[R K T]

Originally Posted by mikester

I know a guy who for the last 20 years has come from Northridge to El Segundo that is north of the 101 by about 10 miles to where the 105 and 405 meet. Every day.

I don't know how he does it.

I did San Pedro to Beverly Hills 6 days a week for 11 years. My store opened at 9am and closed at 6pm, but I would try to get there before 8 in the morning. Most days was 90 minutes each way whether I hit the 405 or did surface streets...Hawthorne Bl > La Cienega etc.
Ten hour day plus 3 hour commute. I did the math one time..... commute 3 hours a day times 6 days a week times 52 weeks times 11 years.....It scared me. I could have learned 7 different languages listening to CDs in the car in that amount of time!

How did I do it? The 6 figure income with first class perks.

[mikester]

for 3 years I commuted from Santa Monica to Orange. About 100 miles round trip in my 914. It would be decent most days and take an hour each way but at least once a week I would have the day from hell and take 3 hours both ways. I swear - some days if traffic was really nasty before I left the office I would just take a nap at my desk.

I resolved then to either work somewhere with a flexible schedule or a shorter commute. It took a bit but at the moment I work mostly from home with probably 2-3 days on the road a week. I get to make my own schedule mostly so I do my best to avoid two things: Getting up early and traffic. =-)

[RWebb]

it was all faked -- done on a Hollywood stage

just like the moon landing