Carmageddon: the autopsy

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Image: 405 shutdown, a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivative-Works (2.0) image by photographer Anthony Citrano.

LOS ANGELES – JULY 16, 2011: The northbound lanes of the 405 freeway sit quiet Saturday afternoon during an unprecedented shutdown of the key southern California freeway. The shutdown lasted more than two days, and marked the first time the highway has been silent in more than 50 years.

Despite, or perhaps because of, widespread fear and publicity in advance—well, there wasn't much to "Carmageddon." The whole affair felt very Y2K. Linked thoroughfares were calm over the weekend, and all was peaceful in Los Angeles. Truth is, "Carmageddon" is every other day around here.

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