Sepulveda Blvd. to Lose Half Its Capacity This Week

Motorists navigating the Sepulveda Pass will have even less room to maneuver this week, as Sepulveda Boulevard is severely crimped next to the 405 Freeway.

Contractors working on the more than $1 billion freeway reconstruction and widening effort need to regrade Sepulveda Boulevard between Montana Avenue and Church Lane, the stretch of road generally north of the Veterans' Cemetery and below the Sunset Boulevard overpass.

Officials told the public at a recent meeting at the Westwood Recreation Center that the project is four to six months behind schedule.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Monday and lasting for seven days, Sepulveda Boulevard will lose half its capacity as workers limit it to just one lane in each direction.

And even those remaining two lanes of Sepulveda Boulevard will be closed to all traffic between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., starting Monday night.

The adjacent 405 freeway lanes are the nearest detour.

"Head for the 405, or head for the hills," joked Metro spokesperson Kim Upton.

It will be no laughing matter for nearby residents, who are already shaken and stirred by the years-long construction project.

"Dump trucks and excavation equipment will be used, and some vibration may occur during the use of compaction rollers," Metro advised. That warning included the overnight hours.

The new Sepulveda Boulevard alignment slices through a hill east of the freeway, where a large retaining wall has been built.

Moving Sepulveda to the east and changing its grade allows Metro to build a new carpool line and auxiliary exit lanes on the northbound 405, the spokesperson said, as the agency rebuilds nearly all of the 50-year-old freeway.

Once Sepulveda is relocated, workers will build the new northbound lanes, Metro officials said.

If you're a nearby resident, business owner or commuter, how has the 405 work along Sepulveda Boulevard affected you? Tell us in the comments.