405 Freeway

The 405 Express Lanes will open in Orange County later this year despite the warnings from a former Huntington Beach mayor of a resident-led rebellion in response to road pricing. But will the toll lanes mitigate congestion? Academics weigh in.

July 25, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Solo drivers in the Golden State will have more options to escape traffic congestion on busy freeways – for a price, as transportation agencies increasing decide to convert existing carpool lanes to high-occupancy toll lanes and add new ones.

January 2, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

The lesson of the I-405 widening project that birthed meme-worthy events like "Carmageddon": widening a freeway won't reduce congestion for long, if ever.

May 8, 2019 - Curbed Los Angeles

A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.

May 4, 2018 - The New York Times

That's how the Los Angeles Times editorial board characterized the $6 billion plan by Los Angeles Metro to widen the 710 freeway. "A waste of money," they assert. Key to the solution is how to deal with goods movement from the seaport complex.

February 26, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

A 16-mile express lane and general purpose lane will be added in each direction of the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. A $629 million TIFIA loan will be repaid by toll-paying motorists, while all taxpayers pay most of the remainder.

August 5, 2017 - Daily Pilot (Los Angeles Times)

Herbie Huff of the UCLA's Lewis Center and Institute of Transportation Studies pens a well-reasoned opinion for the Los Angeles Times as to why a market-based strategy to manage demand is the best approach to traffic congestion in Los Angeles.

March 6, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Was the I-405 widening project worth it for Los Angeles? Depends on whom you ask.

December 22, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Orange County, California transportation officials want to widen the 405 to reduce travel times and ease predicted congestion. The cities of Seal Beach and Long Beach are concerned about how that will impact traffic on surface streets.

April 11, 2016 - KPCC

To the chagrin of many Orange County transportation leaders, two express lanes will be added to each direction on a 14-mile stretch of the 405 (San Diego) Freeway, one through conversion, and a general purpose lane funded in part by Measure M added.

May 3, 2015 - KPCC

Transportation decisions are best made locally, not by the state DOT, right? For those advocating for tolled, managed lanes over free, general purpose lanes, the 405 Freeway in Orange County may prove the exception.

July 29, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The highway widening project that's slowed traffic along the already slothful 405 freeway for the past four years, and brought us the revelatory event known as "Carmageddon", hasn't been all bad news. It offers a glimpse of the city's oldest rocks.

August 23, 2013 - Zocalo Public Square

"Carmageddon" was a bust, yet for mass transit advocates it was an opportunity to build momentum toward a trend of more car-less days, the Los Angeles Times reports.

July 19, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

The weekend closure of the 405 freeway in L.A. highlights the city's limited mobility but also the skewed way transit and transportation projects are debated.

July 15, 2011 - Los Angeles Times