'Carmageddon' Los Angeles Approaches, Lady Gaga Asked to Warn Residents

A 53-hour halt will occur this weekend for Los Angeles residents, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, who is reaching out for help in urging folks - with the help of celebrities, Lady Gaga and Ashton Kutcher - to stand, or drive, clear of the area.

Starting the evening of Friday, July 15 until 5 A.M. local time on Monday the 18th, a 10-mile stretch of the I-405 Freeway will be shut down, causing traffic from the San Fernanco Valley to the West side of Los Angeles. Police officials are asking celebrities with large Twitter followings to spread the word, the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to LA Times:

The LAPD said it is making contact with representatives for Lady Gaga (nearly 11.3 million followers), Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (7 million and 3.7 million respectively) and Kim Kardashian (8 million followers). None of the celebrities have sent out warning tweets yet, but officials hope they will do so closer to the closure dates.

The reason for the closing is because of a planned demolition project of the Mulholland Bridge. The so-called I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project, will amount to a $1 billion and clog up about 281,000 cars, which pass through the area each day, according to the project site. It will close the 405 from its intersection with the 10 freeway stretching north to the San Fernando Valley. The road construction entails the demolition of the Mulholland Drive Bridge in order to accommodate the widening of the freeway and the addition of a northbound commuter lane.