A photo of three diners toasting on Los Angeles’ 405 freeway hit the web over the weekend, with many curious how they managed to pull it off.
Sure, the freeway was shut down starting late Friday night through early Sunday afternoon so that a crew could tear down part of Mulholland Bridge, part of an effort to widen L.A.’s busiest freeway. So traffic wasn’t an obstacle, but they still had to sneak past police and construction workers with a table, three chair and table setting — complete with wine glasses, plates and two candlesticks.
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So how did they do it? Well, it took some planning.
Matt Corrigan and Barry Neely, the two men in the photo, went location scouting last week, photographer Jesse Glucksman told Jalopnik.com.
“Matt and Barry scoped out a location where the freeway was totally unguarded except for a fence, a steep hill of crumbly soil, a wall, construction workers and police in a helicopter and car down the road,” he said.
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They took the photo early Saturday — before 6 a.m. — in Sherman Oaks, about a mile or two north of Ventura Boulevard, Blucksman added.
“We hopped the fence and climbed the hill all while carrying the table, chairs and place settings, found a gap in the wall, set up and posed while I frantically shot a couple dozen photos and got the heck out of there when a construction guy drove up and told us to scoot, informing us that we were lucky it was him and not a cop,” he said.
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As for why they did it?
“How often do college educated professionals in their late 20s/early 30s get to do something so ridiculous?” Glucksman said. “I’ve got kids, man. I never have time to really have fun.”
The photo also features Amanda Corrigan, Matt’s recent bride.
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Experts had predicted massive traffic congestion across Los Angeles during Carmageddon weekend, but it failed to materialize as many people heeded the warnings and apparently stayed close to home. The project was finished hours ahead of schedule, with the 405 reopening Sunday afternoon instead of early Monday morning, as had been expected.
