Metro Weighs Four Ways To Move Traffic Through Sepulveda Pass

Drivers moving through the Sepulveda Pass may one day pay a toll to get past the jams on the 405. Metro is studying four configurations for a 10-mile stretch of the freeway between the 10 and 101, and no choice has been made yet.

The first option leaves the road mostly as it stands: five regular lanes plus one carpool lane in each direction. The second would turn the existing carpool lane into an ExpressLane in each direction, letting solo drivers pay to use it while the five regular lanes stay toll-free. That version needs no additional land and keeps existing lane and shoulder widths, with new lighting, soundwalls, signage and barriers between toll and regular traffic.

A third option converts the carpool lanes to ExpressLanes and adds a second ExpressLane in each direction, leaving five regular lanes plus two ExpressLanes per direction. It would narrow some lanes and shoulders and require property acquisition, though Metro said no residential property would be needed. The fourth option skips tolls entirely, adding a second free carpool lane in each direction while keeping five regular lanes, and would also require narrower lanes and shoulders plus some nonresidential property.

Under the toll versions, solo drivers pay to enter the ExpressLanes while qualifying carpools, vanpools and transit vehicles ride free. Prices rise when demand is high and drop when traffic thins, and drivers need a FasTrak Flex transponder. Metro already runs ExpressLanes on parts of the 10 and 110, where tolls range from 10 cents to $3.30 per mile, and is building ExpressLanes on the 105 that convert existing carpool lanes and add a second ExpressLane, mirroring one of the 405 choices on the table.

Metro said it is preparing to release a draft environmental impact report and environmental impact statement in late 2026 comparing the proposals. Those documents will examine effects on traffic, communities and the environment, and the public can review findings and comment at hearings expected later this year. The agency has stated that no decision has been made about whether to add toll lanes or expand carpool lanes on the 405.

The work sits alongside other projects aimed at travel between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, including the separate Sepulveda Transit Corridor subway project. Metro is also constructing ExpressLanes on the 105 Freeway.