Angelenos Prepare for “Carmaggedon”.

By Linda Ripoll

As if traffic in Los Angeles wasn’t already bad enough, news that a 10-mile stretch of the 405 is shutting down from Friday –Monday makes the idea of traffic jams sound like child’s play. The DOT is shutting the area known as the Sepulveda Pass down this coming weekend in order to blow up a bridge that will help widen the freeway. The impending doom of having to fight through outrageous traffic caused by millions of re-routed drivers means many Angelenos have opted to leave town for the weekend. Quick to jump on a marketing opportunity, several local destinations are offering up special travel deals specifically titled “Carmaggedon getaways”.

Some of these deals range from trips to Vegas to an outdoorsy mountain cabin in the Eastern Sierras. JetBlue Airlines even got in on the marketing opportunity by offering special flights from LA to Long Beach:

“In an "Over-the-405" promotion launched on Wednesday by JetBlue Airways, the discount airline offered special nonstop flights between Long Beach and Burbank for Saturday priced at just $4 each way, taxes and fees included.”

This promotion sold out in three hours! It may seem extreme to some but it was a great option for those commuters who didn’t have the option of hunkering down and need to be mobile this weekend. We’re sure Angelenos will be happy to see the 405 back up and running again come Monday morning. It’s a crisis most major cities and their inhabitants only have nightmares about.