Sunset Traffic Officers Near 405 Ramp Closures Yanked

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — So much for the "Rampture".

KNX 1070's John Brooks reports traffic control officers were noticeably absent on Monday along intersections near the 405 Freeway.

The officers that were put into place ahead of the much-anticipated traffic overflow from the freeway ramp closures along Wilshire Boulevard are no longer directing traffic along Sunset Boulevard.

Barrington Avenue has been among the most popular alternate routes taken by drivers since the beginning of the so-called "Ramp Jam", along with Bundy Drive, Barrington Place, and Church Lane in Brentwood.

But after having 17 traffic control officers on duty during the first week of the Wilshire ramp closures, there are now zero officers on duty starting Monday.

While traffic appeared to be moving unimpeded without the officers, Metro and Department of Transportation officials pledged to bring them back in the event of any significant slowdowns.

At least one local driver said the officers provided a helpful interim solution until construction of the Sunset bridge over the 405 is expected to finish by mid-September.

"It has helped a lot, yeah," said one Brentwood resident. "We'll be very happy when they get that bridge up to full capacity so we won't have to keep getting bottle-necked down there."

The construction of a total of eight on- and off-ramps along Wilshire will likely take another year to complete.