405 Freeway Will Reopen Ahead of Schedule

The 405 freeway is expected to reopen between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. today, well in advance of its originally scheduled early Monday opening, a senior Caltrans official said.

Construction on the Mulholland Bridge is far ahead of schedule, said district supervisor Michael Miles. Demolition has been completed and inspectors are conducting cleanup this morning.

"Things went very smoothly," Miles said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will make an announcement on the progress at 11 a.m. at the bridge construction site.

Meanwhile, public safety and transportation officials are reporting a job well done amid large-scale preparations. Traffic was extremely light over the weekend, with as many as twice the number of people on subways and bus lines,  said Aram Sahakian, an engineer with the Department of Transportation and a member of the emergency response team.

"We didn’t have a crystal ball to see what’s coming our way," Sahakian said. "We prepared for the worst case scenario, period."

The department is gathering data on the impact to local businesses. While the word is that people shopped local, venues such as the Coliseum reported thinner crowds to events such as the soccer game Saturday night between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Madrid.