ORANGE – The Slater Avenue bridge over I-405 in Fountain Valley is scheduled to close to all vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians at 1 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, for approximately 12 months so it can be reconstructed as part of the I-405 Improvement Project.
The Slater Avenue bridge is the second of more than 18 bridges to be built, widened or replaced as part of the project, which will speed up travel times on I-405 between Costa Mesa and the Los Angeles County line, an area traveled by more than 370,000 vehicles a day. The McFadden Avenue bridge was demolished last month.
Drivers should use the following detours while the Slater Avenue bridge is closed:
- Eastbound route 1: Northbound Bushard Street to eastbound Warner Avenue to southbound Brookhurst Street to eastbound Slater Avenue
- Eastbound route 2: Southbound Bushard Street to eastbound Talbert Avenue to northbound Brookhurst Street to eastbound Slater Avenue
- Westbound route 1: Northbound Brookhurst Street to westbound Warner Avenue to southbound Bushard Street to westbound Slater Avenue
- Westbound route 2: Southbound Brookhurst Street to westbound Talbert Avenue to northbound Bushard Street to westbound Slater Avenue
Pedestrians and bicyclists can use the following detours while the bridge is closed:
- Eastbound: Northbound Bushard Street to eastbound Warner Avenue to southbound Buttonwood Street to southbound Banyan Street to Starfish Avenue to eastbound Slater Avenue
- Westbound: Northbound Starfish Avenue to northbound Banyan Street to northbound Buttonwood Street to westbound Warner Avenue to southbound Bushard Street to westbound Slater Avenue
The bridge closure is in preparation for its demolition, which is expected to begin on Saturday, Sept. 29. Demolition work is anticipated to occur overnight on two consecutive Saturdays.
During demolition, both directions of I-405 will be closed overnight from approximately 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. between Brookhurst Street and Magnolia Street. Drivers will be routed off the freeway and detoured to the next open on-ramp. The closures are necessary to safely demolish the freeway overcrossing.
Other current work on the project includes installing concrete barriers to protect work areas, restriping lanes, and trimming and removing trees and vegetation. There are also intermittent overnight closures on freeway lanes, ramps and bridges. Up-to-date closure and construction information is available on the project’s interactive map at www.octa.net/405map.
The $1.9 billion I-405 Improvement Project will add one regular lane in each direction between Euclid Street and I-605. It also will add a second lane in each direction in the center of the freeway between SR-73 and I-605 that will combine with the existing carpool lanes to create the 405 Express Lanes.
This 16-mile segment of I-405 is one of the most traveled stretches of highway in the nation, and both the regular lanes and carpool lanes are heavily congested during rush hour and on weekends. The project is critical to accommodate expected employment, population and housing growth throughout the region.
It currently takes drivers about an hour to travel this section of freeway during rush hour and without the project, the commute is projected to double in the next 20 years. Once the project is finished in 2023, it is expected to take about 30 minutes to drive the 16 miles during rush hour in the regular lanes and about 15 minutes in the 405 Express Lanes.
People are encouraged to visit the project website at www.octa.net/405improvement to sign up for construction alerts via automated call, text message or email.
Please see the attached maps for full detour information.
