Did You Know?

Learn more about the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project

2011

December 28

Why Do Back-Up Alarms Have To Be Noisy?

When they are working as intended, back-up alarms—in common with some forms of modern music—broadcast annoying sounds for several blocks. The I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project has been trying to do something about this.

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December 7

Why Is No One Working Where Traffic Is Restricted?

Although it might seem random to the harassed driver, traffic control in a construction area—especially an area as congested as the Sepulveda Pass—is more science than art.

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November 8

Why Is the Montana/Sepulveda Intersection Significant?

Sitting a stone's throw east of the I-405 freeway and the Brentwood Glen community, the Montana Av/Sepulveda Bl intersection continues its transformation by the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project.

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July 1

Mulholland Community Meeting

On Thursday, June 23, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project hosted a community meeting on the July 16-17 Mulholland Bridge Demolition and the resulting full closure of the I-405 in the Sepulveda Pass.

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March 15

How Do You Explain Pile Driving to First-Graders?

I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project team stood before 35 high-energy kindergarten and first-graders to demonstrate how bridges are built.

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March 11

How Do You Drill Under a River of Traffic?

On a typical Wednesday in February 2009, over 120,000 vehicles flow east and west past Veteran Av on Wilshire Bl.

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January 19

How Is a Giant Freeway Landscaped?

Long before she became a landscape architect, decades before she landscaped schools, ports, airports and parks, Lynn Capouya gathered discarded Christmas trees.

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January 07

How to Build Walls Longer Than an Aircraft Carrier

Every day they watch the I-405 highway curve away from them below while they work to hold back a hillside.

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January 06

How Mulholland Dr Bridge Was Constructed

The main portion of Mulholland Dr-westward from the Cahuenga Pass in Hollywood past the Sepulveda Pass-opened in 1924 under a different name: the Mulholland Highway.

 

2010

December 20

How to Crush Bridges into Roadways

Is there a way to prevent thousands of tons of concrete and asphalt from being dumped into landfills, you might ask. There is.

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October 06

Moving the spaghetti of utilities under Sepulveda Bl

Bonnie Verdin loves spaghetti, although she wishes she saw less of it during her work day.

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September 10 

CAC Meeting

The August 26 Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting focused on committee requests that have been resolved and those still pending.

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August 4 

Reduce Construction Material Sent to Landfills

The I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, has received approval to operate material-crushing sites within the project boundaries.

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July 20

How Crews Lay K-Rail

Mostly—it’s invisible, part of the Southern California highway landscape, much like bumper stickers and lane changes without turn signals—but if you begin to look, K-Rail seems to be everywhere.

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June 16

Project examines a freeway area that never carries cars

Commuters and neighbors can see that the I-405 uses a sophisticated system of lanes, ramps and signage to move hundreds of thousands of vehicles each day.

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June 2

Why clear and grub precedes other preconstruction work

Clear and grub” appears in multiple Construction Notices for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, and although the term may sound like the name of an unsuccessful County Western duo....

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May 27

Quarterly Community Meeting Described Traffic Flow Modifications

Before an audience of approximately 50 attendees, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project team used its May 20 Quarterly Community Meeting to provide an update on the....

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April 27

Scale of widening project apparent in quantities required to complete it

The I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project is a large project by any measure: its length, its cost, its complexity.

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April 20

Artists present aesthetic designs for Sepulveda Bl walls

Before an audience of approximately a dozen attendees, as well as several Community Advisory Committee (CAC) members, the two artists responsible for the aesthetic designs for the 1720/1730 walls on Sepulveda Bl presented their initial concepts April 8.

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April 13

How you keep traffic moving through a complex highway project

Brandon Schissel, Maintenance of Traffic Lead for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, calculates how to maintain traffic flow while supporting an aggressive construction schedule, a considerable challenge when working on one of the nation’s busiest highways.

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April 7

How artists soften a mass of concrete

For years, pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers have passed the retaining walls on either side of Homedale Dr, east of the I-405 Freeway, and seen a mass of flat concrete.

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April 2

Brett Barnett, has highway construction in his veins

Brett Barnett, one of three segment managers for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, has highway construction in his veins. Well, at least in his family tree.

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April 1

What is a pre-construction survey?

As part of the pre-construction activities for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, Morgner Construction Management has been chosen to conduct pre-construction surveys for selected properties within the I-405 project boundaries.

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March 30

How a freeway is cut down to size

Many steps are required before the new section of the I-405 can be attached to the current section.

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March 19

Kay Greeley, Arborist for the Project is also a tree hugger

Kay Greeley, a certified arborist, as well as a civil engineer and landscape architect, led the tree survey process that mapped the 5,600 trees and “significant foliage” along the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project.

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March 19

Variety of signage is used for traffic control and safety

The construction team widening the I-405 has been using a variety of signage devices to control traffic and increase worker safety. Here are three frequently used tools.

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March 17

Caltrans construction manager has big responsibilities

Allan Tanjuaquio’s title on the $1.03 billion I-405 Sepulveda Basin Improvements Project, Construction Manager, means he is responsible for all construction and a large portion of quality assurance.

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March 4

CAC meeting discussed landscaping and the Sunset Bl bridge demolition

The fourth Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting, held February 25 at the project office, focused on the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project’s landscaping plan.

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March 1

High technology used for pre-construction activities

Recent photographs describe some of the pre-construction activities required as part of the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project.

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February 25

Quarterly community meeting offered a 3-month outlook

Facilitated by Yvette Rapose, Community Relations Manager, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project Team hosted a quarterly community meeting last night at The Getty Center.