Now, c’mon, you knew I would just have to write about this.
It appears that someone has moved onto the Hollywood Freeway. OK, they didn’t move, but their house is there none-the-less. More specifically, a fellow trying to save money attempted to move his house from Santa Monica to the Santa Clarita Valley. Now, when you do something like this, Caltrans issues you a permit and provides a specific route. The route they choose is based on the house, the trailers, the inclines, and all the other factors that go into play. I’m familiar with this well from reading the OERM Gazette: often, when a railcar is moved, a specific route must be taken due to clearances and other factors.
However, the schmuck that owns this house didn’t listen. Worried about the inclines on the approved route (I-405), he decided to use a longer route through downtown that had lower inclines. Of course, a longer route stresses the trailer, and the wheels started loosening in Hollywood. He also didn’t realize the bridge clearance were lower, and at the Western Avenue bridge on US 101, the roof of the house hit the bridge. The house was eventually parked on the wide shoulder near Barham Blvd in the Cahuenga pass. It has sat there ever since, with an increasing graffiti cover and creating traffic problems.
He had until midnight Monday to move the house… or Caltrans will (ahem) move the house for him… and bill him for the effort. I haven’t seen a report yet on whether he succeeded. If Caltrans moves it, the bill is expected to be over $20,000.
