Wary LA Braces for 'Carmageddon'

405 closes, construction begins

(NEWSER) - It's too early yet to declare victory over Carmageddon, notes the LA Times, but Los Angeles' normally traffic-choked Interstate 405 closed at midnight without incident, converting into what the AP calls a "ghost road." "When I left work, it was like a no man's land," says one commuter who breezed through a "carmaheaven" evening rush hour in the hours before the shutdown. More»

It was more like 'carmaheaven,' declares triumphant mayor

(NEWSER) - After a whole lot of hype and a less-than-exciting start , "Carmageddon" is over—and the whole thing was rather anticlimactic. The 10-mile stretch of California's 405 Freeway re-opened yesterday around noon, a full 17 hours early, the AP reports. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared the whole thing more of a "Carmaheaven," and thanked residents for sticking close to home. More from the not-quite-apocalyptic weekend:

• Contractors got a bonus for the early finish, to the tune of $300,000, the Los Angeles Times reports.
• Traffic was light for almost the first five hours after the freeway re-opened; alas, that came to an end at 4:59pm when a lane had to be closed after a collision.

Beijing and Mexico City lead the way

(NEWSER) - IBM surveyed drivers in 20 of the world's biggest cities to find the worst commutes. The bottom 5 (based on a slew of factors including time stuck in traffic and stress) in the commuter pain index are:

1. Beijing (99 on a scale of 100)
2. Mexico City (99)
3. Johannesburg (97)
4. Moscow (84, with 2½-hour traffic jams common)
5. New Delhi (81)

Commuters, traffic reporters say famously congested freeways a bit less so

(NEWSER) - Sure, gas prices are unreasonable and the economy is hurting, but, the Los Angeles Times reports, at least now the infamous traffic isn't so bad. Hard data shows that traffic may be thinning out along LA’s freeways; accidents and commute times are also falling. Talking with local drivers, the Times got plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the theory. More»

But Ventura, Inland Empire are catching up

(NEWSER) - Los Angeles and Orange counties are still tied for No. 1 in the nation in traffic delays, a study published today by the Texas Transportation Institute concludes. Motorists in either county lost an average of 72 hours in rush hour traffic in 2005—almost 2 work weeks. LA and Orange have lead the competition 23 out of the last 24 years. More»