Oscar preps: Major road closures in effect in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Preps have already begun for the 85th Oscars, and several road closures went into effect last Sunday night.

The big traffic headaches began at 10 p.m. last Sunday when Hollywood Boulevard closed between Orange Drive and Highland Avenue. The stretch will remain closed until 6 a.m. Feb. 26. The closure signals that Oscar preparations are now in high gear.

Some alleys, sidewalks and curb lanes had already been shut for about a week near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

Other closures that began Sunday night included:

• The south sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard between Orange Drive and Highland Avenue will close at 6 p.m., with the exception of an 8-foot pedestrian access.
• The north sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard directly in front of the Dolby Theatre portal will close at 10 p.m.
• The north sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive, with the exception of an 8-foot pedestrian access, will close at 10 p.m.
• The pedestrian mid-block crosswalk on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive will close at 10 p.m.
• At 10 p.m. Monday, the Hawthorn Alley on the east side of the El Capitan Theatre will close from Hollywood Boulevard south 210 feet. At 12:01 a.m. Friday, Hawthorn Avenue will close between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive.

On Saturday, the day before the show, a series of other closures will begin:

• Orchid Street will close from 60 feet south of Franklin Boulevard to Orchid Alley.
• Orange Drive will close from Orchid Alley to Hollywood Boulevard.
• The north and south sidewalks of Hawthorn Avenue will close from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive.
• The north sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard will close completely from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive.
• The west sidewalk of Highland Avenue will close from Johnny Grant Way south to Hollywood Boulevard.
• Johnny Grant Way from Highland Avenue to Orchid Street will close.

On Feb. 24, the following restrictions will take effect:

• The remainder of Hawthorn Alley from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue will close.
• Orange Drive will close from Hawthorn Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard.
• The north and south sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to 300 feet east of Highland Avenue will close.
• The south sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard will close directly in front of the north-south running Hawthorn Alley.
• The east and west sidewalks of Highland Avenue from Hollywood Boulevard to Hawthorn Avenue will close.
• The east sidewalk of Highland Avenue will close from Yucca Street south to the alley.
• The north and south crosswalks on Hollywood Boulevard at the Highland Avenue intersection.
• The northbound and southbound offramps of the 101 Freeway at Highland Avenue will close.

With the big night quickly approaching, play the My Picks game to choose who you think will win in each award category.

The My Picks experience will live on Oscar.com, the Oscars App, Facebook, ABCNews.com, OTRC.com and GMA.Yahoo.com. Play My Picks right now!

Have a smart phone or tablet? Download the free official Oscars app to get news and updates about the show. It's available for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.

Get the full list of 2013 Oscar nominees

The Oscars will air live on ABC7 on Feb. 24.

Oscar Sunday lineup:

• 1:30 p.m.: On The Red Carpet at The Oscars
• 4 p.m.: The Oscars Red Carpet Live
• 5:30 p.m.: The Oscars
• 8:30 p.m.: On The Red Carpet at The Oscars
• 10 p.m.: Jimmy Kimmel Live
• 11 p.m.: Eyewitness News

City News Service contributed to this report.

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academy awards, award shows, hollywood, road closure, los angeles news

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