How to Get Around This Weekend's 101 Freeway Closure East of Downtown LA

The 101 Freeway will close again in both directions this weekend for construction work on the new Sixth Street Viaduct project east of downtown Los Angeles.

The closure, the second of two weekend shutdowns this fall, begins at 10 p.m. Friday and is scheduled to end at 3 p.m. Sunday. Crews will remove temporary frame supports that have held up bridge arches. 

The closures are on the east side of the viaduct construction site in Boyle Heights. A 2.5-mile section of the freeway will close from the 10/101 Freeway interchange to the 5/10/101 freeway interchange east of downtown Los Angeles. 

Drivers traveling west on the 60 Freeway from the Pomona area will not be able to access the 101 Freeway.

The freeway was also closed on the weekend of Oct. 22 to 24, but that planned 41-hour closure actually lasted only 26 hours, with crews completing their work ahead of schedule.

During the closure, crews will remove structures known as falsework that supported arches over the 101 Freeway. Cable hangers were installed along the arches, allowing them to stand on their own without the falsework.

The new bridge, known as the Ribbon of Light, will replace the original viaduct structure built in 1932. The viaduct provided the setting for scenes from movies, TV shows, ads and music videos through the decades.

The new viaduct is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022. It will include 10 sets of LED-lit, color-changeable arches that are 10 feet wide with a typical arch span of 300 feet.

Click on map below to view a larger version.

Sixth Street Viaduct Project Detours

When traveling north on the 5 Freeway from the Orange County area approaching the 5/10/101 Interchange: 

• Exit to northbound 101 Freeway closed
• Exit to westbound 10 Freeway openExit to northbound 5 Freeway open
• Primary Detour: Northbound 710 Freeway to westbound 10 Freeway
• Secondary Detour: Westbound 10 Freeway to northbound 110 Freeway

When traveling west on 60 Freeway from the Pomona area approaching 5/10/101 Interchange: 

• Exit to northbound 101 Freeway closed
• Exit to westbound 10 Freeway open
• Exit to northbound 5 Freeway open
• Primary Detour: Northbound 710 Freeway to westbound 10 Freeway
• Secondary Detour: Westbound 10 Freeway to northbound 110 Freeway

When traveling south on 101 Freeway from the San Fernando Valley area approaching the 10/101 Split:

• Exit to southbound 101 Freeway closed
• Eastbound 10 Freeway open
• Primary Detour: Southbound 110 Freeway to eastbound 10 Freeway
• Secondary Detour: Eastbound 10 Freeway to southbound 710 Freeway

Renderings of LA's Futuristic $482M Bridge and Park