Carmageddon Is Back: Burbank Bridge Demolition Project To Shut Down 5 Freeway

BURBANK (CBSLA) – Carmageddon is coming to Burbank.

Drivers will need to brace themselves for significant traffic issues over the coming months due to a large-scale construction project that will include completely shutting down the 5 Freeway in Burbank for a full weekend in order to demolish the much-traversed Burbank Boulevard overpass bridge.

The California Department of Transportation reported Monday that the exact dates of the 5 Freeway shutdown will be announced at a news conference this coming Thursday.

The closure will last for 36 hours. It will start on a Saturday afternoon and run through 5 a.m. Monday, Caltrans said.

The 5 Freeway closure will be the biggest in the Los Angeles metro area since 2011's Carmageddon, which famously shut down the 405 Freeway.

Meanwhile, beginning on March 14, the Burbank Boulevard bridge will be permanently closed between Front Street and the San Fernando Boulevard through mid-2021.

The bridge is being demolished and replaced with a wider, longer one, Caltrans reports.

During the closure, drivers will have to use one of nine other 5 Freeway crossings in Burbank.

Along with replacing the bridge, carpool lanes will be added to the 5 Freeway. The work is all part of an ongoing $355 million project in the area to improve traffic and safety on the 5 Freeway corridor.