Slow driving on 101 this morning

Stuck in the madness of the Ventura Freeway this morning?

The commute in the San Fernando Valley stretched on this morning, possibly residual effects of lanes being temporarily closed overnight for maintenance on the Ventura and San Diego freeways, the CHP reported this morning.

Traffic was backed up for several miles on the 101 this morning as Caltrans crews reopened at 5 a.m. stretches of lanes between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Parkway Calabasas and at Las Virgenes Road, said California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos.

Southbound lanes of the 405 Freeway were reopened at 5 a.m. between the Santa Monica (10) and the Marina (90) freeways, Villalobos said.

Villalobos said Caltrans closed down the lanes before midnight last night, and reopened them at 5 this morning. He said that radio and Internet morning reports on the closures can affect which routes motorists take as alternatives, causing traffic delays.