L.A. avoids 'Carmageddon'; road reopens

LOS ANGELES -- The event that many had feared would be a "Carmageddon" of epic traffic jams cruised calmly to a finish yesterday, with bridge work on the Los Angeles roadway completed nearly a full day ahead of schedule and officials reopening a 10-mile stretch of the busy freeway.

Drivers honked and waved as traffic started moving in all 10 lanes of Interstate 405 just after noon after being shut down at midnight Friday. There were no major problems while the freeway was closed.

"We couldn't have done this without the cooperation of this city," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

The mayor praised contractors for working so quickly and thanked city residents for heeding calls to stay off the roads. He also credited news outlets for spreading the word about the closure, which originally had been planned to last for 53 hours.

Crews finished demolition on the bridge about 7 a.m., toppling two massive pillars. About 4,000 tons of concrete rubble were expected to be removed over the course of the job.

For weeks, authorities had warned that driving as usual this weekend could trigger what had been hyped as an event that could back up vehicles from the I-405 to surface streets and other freeways, a domino effect that could paralyze much of Los Angeles.

But the fears of epic traffic jams dissipated with only light weekend traffic.

"It was just so nice. It took me actually less time to get to work than it would have on a normal weekend," said Jenn Tanaguchi, a hairstylist who drives from downtown to her job at a salon in Brentwood. "People were telling me that I would have to leave two hours early, that everything would be blocked out. But there were no problems. It was such a nice ride."

During the closure there were 65 percent fewer automobiles on freeways in the Los Angeles metro area, compared with normal weekend traffic, officials said.

Another closure will be required in about 11 months to demolish the north side. -- AP