Wilshire Bl Ramps Reconstruction

Completed Wilshire Loops Traffic Mobility | Completed Wilshire Loops, South East View

Following the opening of the eight ramps joining the I-405 and Wilshire Bl, the next improvements for drivers will be improved lane configurations at the Wilshire Bl and Sepulveda Bl intersection.

On Southbound Sepulveda
There will now be two dedicated left-turn lanes onto eastbound Wilshire Bl to help move traffic onto the northbound I-405 on-ramp faster. There will also be a dedicated right-turn lane onto eastbound Wilshire Bl, to help cars reach the southbound I-405 on-ramp faster. The prior configuration only had one left-turn lane to eastbound Wilshire Bl, and no dedicated right-turn lane onto westbound Wilshire Bl.

On Northbound Sepulveda
There will be two dedicated left-turn lanes onto westbound Wilshire Bl, to help get traffic onto the southbound I-405 on-ramp faster. There will also be a dedicated right-turn lane onto westbound Wilshire Bl, to help cars get onto the northbound I-405 on-ramp faster. The prior configuration only had one left-turn lane to westbound Wilshire Bl and no dedicated right-turn lane onto eastbound Wilshire Bl.

On Westbound Wilshire
There will now be a dedicated right-turn lane onto northbound Sepulveda Bl; the prior configuration did not have a dedicated right-turn lane.

Workers prepare the new northbound on-ramp from eastbound Wilshire Bl bridge for a deck pour. The deck will be several inches taller than the top of the rebar workers are assembling.

Looking northeast, this photo captures another stretch of the new northbound on-ramp. The plastic bags before the rebar cages hold small stone blocks used to separate layers of rebar during a deck pour.

This photograph looks north at an abutment of the flyover ramp for eastbound Wilshire to northbound I-405.

Soon this structure will be covered in false work, the wood framing that will allow the pouring of the deck. The completed ramp will have a much larger capacity for storing cars than the existing ramp.

Overhead and south of Wilshire, this false work will form part of the bridge deck.

Building the new ramps will reduce the conflict between Wilshire Bl and the I-405 as it crosses Wilshire Bl. In turn, this should reduce backup at other north/south streets, such as Westwood Bl and Veteran Bl.

In addition to addressing problems afflicting one of California’s busiest interchanges, reconstruction of the Wilshire ramps will upgrade them to the latest seismic standards.

The current off-ramp/on-ramp configuration presents a dangerous situation at these of these regionally important intersections:

• Westbound Wilshire Bl on-ramp to the southbound I-405
• Southbound I-405 off-ramp to eastbound Wilshire Bl
• Northbound I-405 off-ramp to westbound Wilshire Bl
• Eastbound Wilshire Bl on-ramp to northbound I-405

At these locations, a mass of drivers struggle to reach a through-freeway lane or change lanes to reach the off-ramp exit. These maneuvers must occur within a short distance and feature the same chaos: the on-ramp traffic slows to merge on while off-ramp traffic speeds up to merge off.

The reconstruction of the Wilshire Bl ramps and their connections with the I-405 freeway require a complex construction schedule to minimize the traffic effects at these heavily traveled interchanges. Although the reconstructed interchanges will produce some of the I-405 project's greatest traffic improvements, the multiple ramp closures will affect traffic flow for miles.