Metro and Caltrans are nearly finished with their $62 million widening of the 405 Freeway through the city of Torrance.
The 405 expansion project is adding nearly two miles of new auxiliary freeway lanes and a new on-ramp, and widening adjacent streets including Crenshaw Boulevard and 182nd Street.
This 405 project was approved in 2016, via a FONSI (finding of no significant impact) which dubiously claims the project will benefit air quality, congestion, and even greenhouse gas emissions.
Construction got underway in 2021.
At this week's Metro Construction Committee meeting, Caltrans Principal Transportation Engineer John Yang reported that this 405 project is now 92 percent complete, "We are expecting the project to be substantially completed by the end of August."
Additional project details are available at Yang's slide presentation (which includes brief updates on Caltrans/Metro 71 Freeway expansion, plus Caltrans safety work on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and at the end of the 105 Freeway in Norwalk). See also 405 project pages at the city of Torrance and Caltrans websites.
The Torrance project is one of more than half a dozen interconnected Metro/Caltrans 405 expansions though the South Bay. The Metro board recently approved $8 million for planned widening of the 405 between Artesia Boulevard and the 105 Freeway. Metro is seeking to augment those funds with further state and/or federal funding.
According to Metro's own conservative analysis, greenhouse gas emissions from Metro freeway capacity expansion will far outstrip all greenhouse gas benefits from Metro transit. Metro and Caltrans recently completed more than $3 billion worth of 5 Freeway widening projects, and just this week hosted input meetings on its plans to spend $5+ billion expanding the 605, 5, 10, 60 and 105 Freeways.
