From a major freeway shutdown to the opening of carpool lanes and two new passenger rail lines, the transportation picture in Southern California saw some notable changes in 2023.
Since 21 million residents are fragmented by barriers, mostly by geography, but also by the daily blockages created by soul-stealing traffic, not everyone will have noticed these pins placed on the region’s sprawling transportation map.
Nonetheless, what follows is a broad recount of the stories that altered the transportation landscape in Southern California, whether you travel by car, rail, bus, bicycle or foot:
• 10 Freeway closure: When an arsonist torched pallets stored under the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, the columns holding up the raised freeway were damaged and Southern California commuters let out a big “Uh-Oh!” On Nov. 11, all lanes in both directions were closed on a 450-foot span of freeway used by 300,000 vehicles a day, and officials initially said reopening the 10 would take weeks or months. But the lanes were reopened only eight days later on Nov. 19, after an around-the-clock effort by Caltrans and contractors. Crews used more than 100 tons of steel beams and enough wooden posts to stretch over a mile if placed end to end to shore up the freeway columns, Caltrans reported. Repairs continue, and for all you freeway wonks, you can spy the ongoing work at Fixthe10.ca.gov. There’s even a video stream from multiple cameras.
• 405 Freeway widening, express lanes: The drive from the L.A. County-Orange County border to Costa Mesa on the 405 Freeway may have improved on Dec. 1, when officials from Caltrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) opened the I-405 Improvement Project. Here’s what taxpayers got for $2.16 billion: two general lanes and two express lanes, one in each direction between the 605 Freeway and State Route 73. Carpoolers of three persons (mannequins not accepted) are free; two in a car will pay a toll during peak…
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