LA’s $24B high-speed tunnel project could slash 405 Freeway commute to just 18 minutes

Angelenos accustomed to barely moving on the 405 as part of their daily commute could soon see some relief thanks to a multi-billion dollar solution.

After many months of discussions, the LA Metro Board has finally approved an underground heavy rail subway to travel the ultra congested Sepulveda corridor where traffic nightmares have long haunted commuters. 

It’ll take just 18 minutes to travel the corridor on the train, that’s one hour and 12 minutes less than the typical 90 minutes drivers suffer through the famed pass.

The project will also cost an estimated $24 billion.

The automated subway will snake underneath Van Nuys Boulevard through the pass and all the way to Santa Monica according to Metro’s official website. It will include stops at Ventura, Wilshire, and Santa Monica Boulevards.

Many options were considered, including a monorail high above the freeway.

Elon Musk has been a critic of LA spending billions on building tunnels, offering up his Boring Company as a much cheaper way of digging underground.

Boring Company tunnels are much more narrow and designed for electric vehicles rather than high-capacity trains, with smaller stations and fewer safety systems.

405 Traffic along the Sepulveda Pass has been unbearable for decades. It’s been called the busiest freeway in the world, and congestion has habitually plagued the gateway to the Valley from the Westside.

The subway could be an up hill battle, residents in the Bel Air area have expressed opposition to expansion in the past, saying that underground work could be catastrophic in the event of a big earthquake.

It will take years to complete the project. Metro says we may not see the subway completed until 2038.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters