Los Angeles, California: Southbound I-405 Through Sepulveda Pass Drops to Three Lanes This Weekend

Los Angeles drivers who use the Sepulveda Pass face a slower weekend on the 405. Caltrans will reduce southbound Interstate 405 to three lanes between Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive from 10 p.m. on Friday, October 23, until 5 a.m. on Monday, October 26. The Palisades News reported the weekend schedule this week, and Caltrans and MyNewsLA confirm the same lanes, ramps and times.

The work is part of a pavement rehabilitation project on the San Diego Freeway that MyNewsLA priced at $143.7 million. Caltrans announced the extended weekend pattern on September 14, listing two weekends with the same restrictions: October 2 to 5, which has passed, and October 23 to 26. Northbound I-405 will not face lane reductions this weekend, Caltrans said, and the agency strongly encouraged drivers to seek alternate routes and to consider public transportation.

Which ramps close in the pass

Three southbound ramps close for the full weekend window. The Ventura Boulevard on-ramp to southbound I-405 will close. The southbound I-405 off-ramp to Valley Vista Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard will close, and the Valley Vista Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard on-ramp to the southbound freeway will also close. The northbound I-405 off-ramp to Getty Center Drive will close during the same period, even though northbound lanes stay open, MyNewsLA and other local reports said.

MyNewsLA reported that weekday overnight work on the same project began on Monday evening, October 19, with lane, ramp and connector closures from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for K-rail installation and paving. Up to four lanes at a time closed overnight in each direction between the Ventura Freeway area and Mulholland Drive during that weekday work. Caltrans said residents and businesses near the construction may hear noise and feel vibrations and dust, and the speed limit drops to 55 mph in certain sections of the freeway during the paving work.

What drivers should do

Caltrans advised motorists to check QuickMap for current road conditions before they travel. The Sepulveda Pass carries traffic between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, and a cut to three southbound lanes through that corridor usually backs traffic onto surface streets in Sherman Oaks, Encino and Brentwood. Drivers who can shift their trips outside the Friday night to Monday morning window will avoid the worst of the weekend work.

The weekend reductions end at 5 a.m. on Monday, October 26, when the southbound lanes and the closed ramps are scheduled to reopen. Caltrans said the schedule is part of the October plan it published on September 14, and later weekday overnight closures can still occur as the paving project continues.