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September 2, 2025
By Brian Hews
Los Angeles — As if the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass wasn’t already the worst traffic nightmare in Los Angeles County, Caltrans is about to make it worse. Much worse.
From 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, through 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 22, the freeway will be squeezed down to three lanes in each direction for pavement rehab work. In other words, the daily parking lot commuters know and love will now run at about half-capacity.
The northbound 405 will drop to three lanes between Santa Monica Boulevard and just north of Sunset, with a host of ramp closures at Santa Monica, Wilshire, Sunset, and Sepulveda/Moraga. The southbound 405 won’t fare much better, narrowed between Sunset and Wilshire, with Sunset/Church Lane ramps and the westbound Wilshire on-ramp all shut.
Caltrans suggests “alternate routes” via Santa Monica and Sepulveda, which longtime drivers know means only one thing: the gridlock just spreads to new neighborhoods. Public transportation may be the saner option—at least the train doesn’t slam on the brakes at the Getty Center exit.
This is all part of a $143.7 million pavement rehabilitation project between Van Nuys and Westwood. Caltrans says there will be about 25 of these weekend shutdowns in the coming months. Translation: get comfortable, because traffic in the Sepulveda Pass—already legendary—just found a new low.
For real-time misery updates, check Caltrans Quickmap at quickmap.dot.ca.gov.
Contact Brian Hews at [email protected] or follow @cerritosnews.bsky.social
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