LAX’s already-miserable traffic is expected to get a lot worse this week. Here’s what to know

When LAX warns of construction delays, fliers have learned the hard way that they’d better heed the warning. Last month, for instance, the airport announced lane closures for construction work, which led to miserable congestion.

The airport issued a warning for this week, saying that construction-related lane closures could bring heavier-than-usual traffic.

What to expect

Two westbound and eastbound lanes on Century Boulevard at Concourse Way (between La Cienega Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard) are closed. The 24-hour closures began Monday at 7 a.m. and are set to continue through Friday at 7 p.m., LAX officials said on X.

Impacts

As predicted, traffic was dragging — at least on the upper level — Monday morning. Around 8 a.m., the X account @FlyLAXstats posted that it was taking drivers about 48 minutes to get through the airport’s upper level. During March construction, the upper level was taking as long as 91 minutes to traverse.

Time on the lower level on Monday was a comparatively breezy six minutes. In a positive turn of events, the time to get through the upper level had shrunk to 14 minutes by around 4 p.m. The time to get to Terminal 1 from Century Boulevard and the 405 was listed at six minutes.

But those heading to LAX this week would be wise to assume headache-inducing traffic and leave extra time for getting to flights.

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LAX’s long-promised rail link, the People Mover, likely delayed until late 2025

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What’s causing the gridlock

The construction is for work on the Roadway and Utility Enabling project. RUE is a driver-less transit system designed to make traffic better around the airport in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

The Automated People Mover System — the planned 2.25-mile elevated train for transporting people to and from airport terminals, parking lots, the rental car facility and the Metro connector — is still being worked on, but the opening has been delayed to late 2025.