Carmageddon Approaches

Carmageddon Approaches

We're in July now and with the "Blow-shit-up" holiday already blown up on us, what do we have left to look forward to? Well, there's always comic con. I mean, that's what everyone is waiting for that wears glasses and has no social skills. But there's something that comes before that.

Something we, as Southern California residents should fear.

Something that will effect us all...

CARMAGEDDON!

Why yes, I am referring to the weekend of the 16th. In which Friday night will see the closure of the 405 between the 10 and the 110. Ten miles of north and south bound traffic filled highway that will be entirely closed for the weekend.

Let's put it this way, if you're going to try to get to the airport that weekend, you're utterly fucked. Tell them, star of television and... well, what the fuck else did he do besides dress as a CHP officer? Either way, You tell them Erik Estrada:



Yeah, that's right. We're making the hollywood has beens do the ads to keep us plainly aware that the 405 will be an even bigger mess than it usually is. They're using actors for the announcements about the July 16-17 405 closure

Available in English and Spanish, the video PSA reminds the public to Plan Ahead, Avoid the Area or Stay Home during the closure weekend July 16-17, 2011. Estrada, who played “Poncharello,” a California Highway Patrol officer in the popular 1970s-1980s TV show CHiP’s, volunteered to do the PSA to Metro for free in recognition of the importance this freeway improvement project will have in adding carpool lane capacity to the northbound I-405 between the I-10 and U.S. 101 freeways.

And if you're of the Latin background, perhaps the PSA in Spanish here will be of use to you.

It's a strange tactic but the LAPD reached out to a slew of celebs with a good following on Twitter and had them sacrifice a self serving tweet or two in urging their followers to avoid the 10 mile connection from West L.A. to the Valley.



I guess the goal in that was to reach as many people as possible who don't normally turn on the local television or radio news outlets and just use the internet for all that sort of things. Which is a bit confusing as if they weren't painfully aware of this closure by their normal commute already and they do follow these people, then fuck them!

And I guess it's actually working out against them as celebs aren't really doing much to help them in this matter. I mean, who wants to turn one of their self serving tweets promoting themselves and use it, instead, to get people to be aware of some highway closure?

I simply have to ask, do they really need to do any of this? If you've taken any of the freeways/Highways in Los Angeles... shit, even in Orange County on the 5, 91, 22, 57, 55. All of them have electric signs up slowing down traffic indicating this future closure.

But hey, you can also plan ahead and route your course a different way

As the Los Angeles Police Department and CalTrans/Metro have released a set of maps showing the closure route of the Carmageddon. And even though the message has constantly been "Avoid the area of the 405 and the Sepulveda Pass that weekend", at least this way you can try to work your way around the mess.

To check out these maps, Metro has an extensive set of maps showing all of the segment detours for the closures, so at the very least if you do have to find your way to that part of town, you'll have some alternatives you'll be cursing about having to be stuck in.