This weekend’s 40-hour closure of a 2.5 mile stretch of the 101 Freeway, to allow for the demolition of the Easternmost edge of the Sixth Street Bridge, already has a catchy nickname –hashtag included.
40 Hour Closure of 101 Fwy from 10 to 60 on 2/5-2/7 #101slowjam Info:https://t.co/JFuICPx1je pic.twitter.com/GNY6QnFoE0
— 6thStViaduct (@6thStViaduct) February 4, 2016
In calling it the #101SlowJam, officials are anticipating that the closure beginning Friday at 10 p.m. and ending just in time for Super Bowl Sunday will cause little or no major traffic jams or headaches.
For weeks, Caltrans has been advising about the weekend closure in electronic billboards placed on freeways as far away as Orange County and Pasadena. And the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Engineering –which is overseeing the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project–has embarked on a media campaign to get the word out about alternate routes for drivers approaching the closure.
The 101 Freeway will close from the 10/101 split to the East LA interchange, where the 10, 5 and 101 meet just south of downtown. Officials are advising West and Northbound drivers to detour through the 710 to the 10 Freeway and South and Eastbound Drivers to take the 110 to the 10 Freeway.
Most On Ramps to the 101 Freeway in Boyle Heights will be closed during the 40-hour period –the one exception being the North Bound on 1st Street near Boyle. The closed On Ramps will be:
- NB 101 6th Street
- NB 101 Euclid Avenue
- NB 101 Soto Street
- SB 101 Mission Road
- SB 101 4th Street
Also, several Off Ramp closures to Boyle Heights will be:
- SB 101 to Mission Road
- WB 60 to Soto Street
- NB 5 to Soto Street
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Engineering held a community briefing in Boyle Heights where residents were asked to carefully plan weekend trips, to patiently endure the unavoidable slowdowns if they decided to venture out during the closure, or to simply stay home and avoid the potential traffic mess.
Officials predict that if everything goes as planned, the freeways should reopen before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday.
Photo above: The 101 On Ramp on Sixth Street near the closed bridge is one of several that will be closed to traffic from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. Photo by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
