The 405 Freeway Can Be Brutal: Transit Proposed through Sepulveda

Heavy traffic through the Sepulevda Pass can cause delays.

According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, “the 10-mile stretch of the 405 Freeway between the 10 and 101 freeways often sees more than 300,000 cars per day. And according to a 2019 study commissioned by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), it takes afternoon peak period commuters on average 48 minutes to drive those 10 miles northbound from the 10 Freeway to the 101 Freeway.”

For years, this editor drove her son to an elite soccer team that practiced in Pacoima at 5 p.m. It took 45 minutes to reach the 405 from Pacific Palisades, and then an additional 45 minutes to go from Sunset via 405 to Pacoima.

Advocates are hoping that the Sepulveda Transit Corridor will change congestion and the time it takes to travel to work.

The Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project had its origins in 1957, when MTA looked at the feasibility of connecting San Fernado Valley to Los Angeles and Long Beach. Now, 66 years later LA Metro wants to go forward with a plan to connect the Valley, the Westside and ultimately in a second phase, connect the Valley to LAX.

Residents have until August 30 to vote on alternate choices, which include five choices, with estimated costs ranging from $15.4 billion for Alternative 1 to $24.4 billion for Alternative 6. Or one can vote for “no project.”

Funds would come from Measure M ($5.7 billion has been identified for construction). As Steve Sann, the Chair of the Westwood Council explained, typically the Federal government will cover about 50 percent of the cost.

If one looked at Alternative 5, estimated to cost $24 billion, that would mean an additional $8 billion would need to be found – perhaps $3 billion from the state and additional money from a private-public partnership.

The projected annual operation/maintenance cost, once the project is completed is estimated at $130 million for Alternative 3 to $157 million for Alternative 6.

To look at the proposed routes click here.

For example, on the Metro website, Alternative 1, shows Esmeralda, who lives in Panorama City and needs to go to work at the Santa Monica Hilton. She walks to a DASH bus to the Van Nuys Metrolink monorail. She then goes to the Metro E (Expo Line) and switches to the Expo/Sepulveda and then walks to the Hilton. Total time is listed at 75 minutes (doesn’t factor in wait times at stops). Her current travel time is 117 minutes.

Whichever option is chosen, construction is estimated to last about 10 years.

On August 17, the Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC), a member of the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC), opposed the two proposed Monorail Options (Alternative 1 and Alternative 3) due to their significantly lower ridership projections and longer travel times, and supported the proposed underground Heavy Rail subway mode of transportation through the Sepulveda Pass.

Sann suggests going to a site https://www.stc4all.org/faq.html, which lists organizations that are advocating for a Transit Corridor that would include a direct station on UCLA’s campus and a connection to the Purple/D line Westwood Village station. “We are a coalition of organizations and supporters from across Los Angeles advocating for accessible and equitable transit,” the site notes.

In 2024, L.A. bus ridership was 42,602,853 and rail ridership was 68,658,479, according to the Metro website, but Sann is optimistic that if a route is selected that includes a station at UCLA, the ridership at that station could be as high as 18,000 average weekday boardings.

And will it improve the time to travel from Pacific Palisades to the 405? Not likely, there are no connections along Sunset Boulevard—one of the only three roads in and out of the town.

The second phase of adding a transit line from the Valley to LAX is at least another 10 years away or more.

Getty Villa is urging that people vote for Alternative 3, because it is the only option with stops at both the Getty Center and UCLA.