105 ExpressLanes: weekend closures as Metro races to open first toll segment before the 2028 Olympics

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Headline graphic: 105 ExpressLanes, over a Metro photo of a C Line train running in the middle of the 105

Cover photo: File photo (Metro C Line in the 105 median, 2021) by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped, darkened and text added by The Southbound 105.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 11, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Drivers on the westbound 105 near the 110 interchange ran into overnight lane closures this weekend as Metro pushed ahead on the I-105 ExpressLanes, a $1.5 billion project that will turn the corridor's carpool lanes into toll lanes, with the first stretch promised in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Metro said crews would close up to two westbound lanes between Central Avenue and the Harbor (110) interchange from 10:30 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday, then close westbound lanes in the same stretch from 10 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday, City News Service reported. Expect more of these: Metro warns that nighttime lane reductions and ramp closures will continue intermittently through construction, though it says it will not close consecutive ramps at the same time.

What is being built

The project converts the existing carpool lane into ExpressLanes and adds a second ExpressLane in each direction along 16.1 miles of the 105, from Sepulveda Boulevard near LAX to Studebaker Road at the 605. Carpools will still ride free or at a discount, while solo drivers will be able to pay a toll that rises and falls with traffic, the same system used on the 10 and 110.

Metro says the lanes are expected to cut travel times in them by at least 50%. The plan also includes 18 entry and exit points spaced two to three miles apart, new auxiliary lanes, sound walls and California Highway Patrol observation areas, according to a construction-industry profile of the job.

Three segments, two deadlines

Segment 1, from Sepulveda Boulevard to Central Avenue, has been under construction since January 2025 and is scheduled to open to traffic in 2028. It is part of Metro's "Twenty-Eight by '28" list of projects meant to be ready for the Games. Metro said the first segment will open in time for the Olympics, "boosting regional mobility for the Games while delivering lasting benefits for everyday travelers."

Segment 3, from the 710 to Studebaker Road, started construction in September 2026. Segment 2, from Central Avenue to the 710, is expected to start this fall. Both are targeted for completion in 2029.

Much of the work happens around the Metro C Line, which runs down the middle of the 105, and near the LAX/Metro Transit Center station that opened in 2025. Metro says most daytime work takes place behind concrete barriers, so the bigger traffic impacts come at night, when crews narrow lanes and close ramps to restripe, pour pavement and build retaining walls and drainage.

The price tag

In 2025 the Metro board raised the project's life-of-project budget by about $708 million to roughly $1.47 billion, according to a board report, with a separate $44.3 million roadside tolling system bringing the total to about $1.5 billion. Construction is being handled by a joint venture of Flatiron Dragados and Myers & Sons.

Where the toll money goes

State law requires net toll revenue from ExpressLanes to be reinvested within three miles of the corridor. That matters for the communities the 105 cuts through, including Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lynwood, South Gate, Downey and Norwalk. On the existing 10 and 110 ExpressLanes, Metro says the program has granted more than $74 million for transit service and more than $112 million to local cities since 2014 for bike, pedestrian, transit and road projects. Metro has been preparing an equity assessment to decide which projects along Segments 2 and 3 get that money first.

What it means for you

If you drive the 105 at night, check Metro's project page or sign up for its construction alerts before you go, and plan for detours around Central Avenue and the 110. If you commute by carpool today, start looking at a FasTrak Flex transponder, which you will need to keep riding free or discounted once tolling begins.

Sources

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