Morning Traffic Impacted After Excavator Falls Near 405 Freeway

Traffic was jammed Monday morning along Sepulveda Boulevard after an excavator fell overnight on the 405 Freeway Project near the Brentwood/Sherman Oaks/Encino area, according to Metro.

There were no injuries or vehicle accidents, according to spokesman Dave Sotero.

An excavator working on the slope north of Mountaingate Drive was doing clearing and grubbing work late Sunday night, Sotero said.

"That's the location where they're building a retaining wall," Sotero said. "The excavator slipped down the slope and onto Sepulveda Boulevard."

It took Metro until 7:40 a.m. to reopen that portion of road and get the excavator back on its tracks, he added. At 10 a.m. Monday, SigAlert still showed the southbound 405 Freeway lanes leaving the San Fernando Valley were in gridlock.

Full nightly closures of Sepulveda Boulevard began on Friday between Skirball Center Drive and Mountaingate Drive for road widening and other tasks to accomodate the new southbound Skirball ramps.

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