The other Los Angeles pass is narrowing on the same nights. Caltrans will close lanes, connectors and ramps on U.S. Highway 101 through the Cahuenga Pass — between Highland Avenue and State Route 170 (SR-170), past Universal Studios — from Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 13 for paving work, the agency announced. There will be no overnight closures on Tuesday, November 10 or Wednesday, November 11, because of the Veterans Day holiday.
Source: Caltrans
The 101 through the Cahuenga Pass is the Hollywood Freeway's link between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles to the south and Studio City, the San Fernando Valley and the Ventura Freeway to the north. It is a different road and a different project from the I-405 work in the Sepulveda Pass: this one is a $24.3 million pavement rehabilitation on the 101 itself, reported in the same terms by Secret Los Angeles on November 9.
Monday and Thursday nights: one lane only at 2 a.m.
On Monday, November 9 and Thursday, November 12, up to three lanes close on northbound U.S. 101 from Highland Avenue to SR-170 starting as early as 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., and up to four lanes close from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. — which leaves the northbound freeway reduced to two lanes overnight and to one lane in that 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. window. Southbound, up to two lanes close from SR-170 to Highland Avenue starting as early as 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., leaving southbound reduced to three lanes overnight between SR-170 and Cahuenga Boulevard.
Friday night runs longer, into Saturday morning
Friday night, November 13 into Saturday morning, November 14 is the longest session of the week. Northbound, up to three lanes close from Highland Avenue to SR-170 from as early as 10 p.m. until 9 a.m., with up to four lanes closed from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. Southbound, up to two lanes close from SR-170 to Highland Avenue from as early as 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. Several ramps stay closed well into Saturday morning — some until 11 a.m. or 11:59 a.m. — so an early Saturday trip through the pass is not automatically clear.
Connectors fully closed, with signed detours via Vineland Avenue
On Monday and Thursday nights, the northbound Hollywood Freeway connector to the northbound Ventura Freeway is fully closed from 11:59 p.m. to 6 a.m.; the southbound Hollywood Freeway connector to eastbound SR-134 and the southbound Ventura Freeway connector to the southbound Hollywood Freeway are also fully closed from 11:59 p.m. to 6 a.m.; and the southbound SR-170 connector to the southbound Hollywood Freeway is fully closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. On Friday night the same connectors close again, the SR-170 connector from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. and the northbound connector from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Caltrans has published detours for each closure. Drivers heading for the northbound Ventura Freeway use the Vineland Avenue off-ramp, then north on Vineland Avenue, west on Moorpark Street and north on Tujunga Avenue to the northbound 101 on-ramp. Drivers heading for eastbound SR-134 use the Vineland Avenue off-ramp and Riverside Drive. Drivers coming south on SR-170 for the Hollywood Freeway detour via eastbound SR-134 and the Cahuenga Boulevard off-ramp, then south on Cahuenga Boulevard and Lankershim Boulevard to the southbound 101 on-ramp. Message signs will be placed along the detour routes, and Caltrans warns there may also be rolling overnight full closures at connectors and ramps as the contractor moves between locations.
The ramp list is long, and ramps may close at different times within the work hours. On the northbound side on Monday and Thursday: the Cahuenga Boulevard, Universal Studios Boulevard (eastbound from 9 p.m.), W.C. Fields Drive, Ventura Boulevard (from 7 p.m.) and Moorpark Street on-ramps, and the Barham Boulevard, Universal Studios Boulevard/W.C. Fields Drive, Lankershim Boulevard, Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue off-ramps. On the southbound side: the Barham Boulevard, Universal Studios Boulevard, eastbound Ventura Boulevard and eastbound Vineland Avenue on-ramps, and the Highland Avenue, Lankershim Boulevard and Vineland Avenue off-ramps, plus the Riverside Drive off-ramp on eastbound SR-134.
Background: what the $24.3 million buys
Under the project, Caltrans will rehabilitate asphalt along U.S. 101 lanes, ramps and shoulders and replace and repair concrete slabs. The work also replaces guardrails, curbs and dikes and a crash cushion, renews traffic striping, and upgrades curb ramps at 23 locations to meet ADA standards. Once complete, Caltrans says, the project will extend the pavement life, improve ride quality and improve pedestrian accessibility and safety along the 101 in the Cahuenga Pass. The contractor is Chumo Construction Inc., and construction is expected to complete in summer 2029.
Caltrans encourages motorists to allow extra travel time, drive with caution in the area and check QuickMap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) for current road conditions. Its standing reminder for this project: 'Be Work Zone Alert' and 'Slow for the Cone Zone.' Residents and businesses near the work may experience noise, vibrations and dust.
For Punjabi families and workers in the Valley and Hollywood, this is the commute between home and the studios, hospitals and night-shift jobs on the other side of the pass, and for truckers it is one of the few crossings between the Valley and central Los Angeles. A closure at Universal Studios Boulevard or Ventura Boulevard does not just slow the freeway — it pushes traffic onto Cahuenga Boulevard, Lankershim Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, the same surface streets local drivers would use to escape it.
What happens next: after Monday night, the pass gets two nights off for Veterans Day, then the pattern repeats on Thursday, November 12 and the long Friday-night session into Saturday, November 14. Caltrans states the lane closures are subject to change for weather or operational reasons, including the times, dates and number of closures — so the schedule to trust on the night is QuickMap, checked before departure.