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California aims to avoid ‘Carmageddon’ freeway closure

FILE - In this July 16, 2011 file photo, pneumatic hammers from above and below continue the demolition of two lanes of Mulholland Drive bridge over Interstate 405 in Los Angeles as part of what was called Carmageddon, as it required the closure of the freeway for three days. "Carmageddon II" will be coming to a major freeway near Los Angeles on the last weekend of April. The demolition of the Burbank Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 in Burbank, Calif., a major link between Los Angeles and Northern California, will shut down the freeway for what authorities say will be 36 hours beginning at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - In this July 16, 2011 file photo, pneumatic hammers from above and below continue the demolition of two lanes of Mulholland Drive bridge over Interstate 405 in Los Angeles as part of what was called Carmageddon, as it required the closure of the freeway for three days. "Carmageddon II" will be coming to a major freeway near Los Angeles on the last weekend of April. The demolition of the Burbank Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 in Burbank, Calif., a major link between Los Angeles and Northern California, will shut down the freeway for what authorities say will be 36 hours beginning at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) FILE - In this July 16, 2011 file photo, pneumatic hammers from above and below continue the demolition of two lanes of Mulholland Drive bridge over Interstate 405 in Los Angeles as part of what was called Carmageddon, as it required the closure of the freeway for three days. "Carmageddon II" will be coming to a major freeway near Los Angeles on the last weekend of April. The demolition of the Burbank Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 in Burbank, Calif., a major link between Los Angeles and Northern California, will shut down the freeway for what authorities say will be 36 hours beginning at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

By JOHN ROGERS / The Associated Press 4 min read

photo Caltrans announced during a news conference in Burbank, Calif. on Thursday, March 5, 2020 the closure of the I-5 freeway through Burbank for 36 hours The closure will be done to demolish the Burbank Blvd bridge, pictured, which will be replaced to accommodate new car pool lanes on the freeway. Authorities are putting the word out ahead of a major freeway closure next month, hoping to avoid, as they did in 2012, a traffic nightmare they’ve nicknamed Carmageddon, Transit officials will be closing a section of Interstate 5 on the weekend of April 25-27 as part of a major improvement project that involves tearing down a bridge. (David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News via AP)

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – It could be “Carmageddon II,” and it’s coming to a major freeway near Los Angeles on the last weekend of April.

The question, as Southern Californians fire up their traffic apps, is whether this latest freeway shutdown – of a section of busy Interstate 5 through Burbank – might be subtitled “The Traffic Strikes Back.” Or, as transportation officials hope, “The Motorist Awakens (And Takes an Alternate Route.)”

The section of the major interstate connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco is scheduled to be closed for 36 hours in both directions starting at 3 p.m. April 25, a Saturday. If all goes as planned it will reopen at 3 a.m. April 27, just ahead of the Monday rush hour.

“This will be the largest freeway closure in Los Angeles since September 2012 when we closed Interstate 405 in both directions,” John Bulinski, the state Department of Transportation’s local director, said Thursday. He was referring to the 2012 event that came to be known widely as Carmageddon for fears it would cause traffic chaos.

In the end, the traffic jams that officials feared could have gridlocked the entire city that weekend never materialized as people got the word and stayed away.