Dear D.C. commuter….you think you have it bad? Be thankful that you’re not living in Los Angeles this weekend. In an effort to widen the 405, Los Angeles will be shutting down an 11 mile stretch of the road to widen a bridge from four lanes to six lanes, as part of a $1 billion dollar road widening project.
The road reportedly carries over 500,000 commuters on any given weekend, and authorities are telling people to stay home or leave town.
The shutdown is creating so much hype that locals have dubbed the oncoming traffic apocalypse, “carmegeddon”. It has even resulted in a website with a countdown clock, a facebook page, and a twitter account. The website and twitter accounts all seem to be urging locals to “shop local, ride your bike”, so perhaps the shutdown will have some positive fallout for local retailers and the environment.
So, as you head out of work this afternoon and potentially sit in a few hours of traffic during your evening commute; be thankful that you’re not part of carmegeddon.
I always get calls from my LA friends when they get stuck in traffic… I’m expecting my phone to explode this weekend.