Ninety-sixth Street no longer goes through to Sepulveda. The eastbound lanes between Sepulveda Boulevard and Alverstone Avenue closed for good on January 23, 2026, and the westbound side followed on February 26. Vicksburg Avenue between 96th and 98th Streets is permanently closed too. The airport's cell phone waiting lots are closed, and LAWA's October project update sends waiting drivers to 6217 W 96th St and 5800 W Century Blvd.
Westchester has been living with the street changes made for LAX's new ground transportation system for most of this year. The train at the center of that system still isn't carrying passengers. For Thanksgiving and December trips, the airport ride SkyLink was built to provide comes from pieces that already run: one stop on the Metro K Line and a free pink shuttle bus.
A train that keeps moving its own opening date
SkyLink is a 2.25-mile automated people mover. The project costs $3.3 billion, and the contractor building it is LAX Integrated Express Solutions, known as LINXS. Its projected first day of passenger service has moved twice in a few weeks:
| When it was reported | Projected passenger service | Source |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | Missed its Oct. 6 startup deadline | Daily Breeze |
| October 2026 lender report | Jan. 6, 2027, "at risk of further slippage" | Daily Breeze |
| Oct. 29, 2026 | Feb. 5, 2027, per the contractor's monthly progress report | Los Angeles Times |
The Los Angeles Times reported that even the February date comes with a warning from the contractor. The delay "will continue to increase on a day-for-day basis" until the Department of Water and Power and Los Angeles World Airports reach agreements on solar power for the train. The same article said the train is $1.4 billion over budget and nearly four years past its original 2023 opening. It also reported four "arc blasts" during September testing that damaged the power rail and guide beam. Testing resumed after repairs. LAWA's own SkyLink page still describes the train as forthcoming.
Every projected date falls after the holidays, so this season's airport trips will look much like last year's.
The working version of SkyLink is one K Line stop and a pink bus
When SkyLink opens, it will connect six stations. Three are in the Central Terminal Area. The other three serve Economy Parking and the Ground Transport Center, the LAX/Metro Transit Center, and the Rental Car Center. The Transit Center link is the one that matters most in Westchester. The station at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street opened on June 6, 2025, and its link to the terminals already runs by bus.
On Metro's K Line timetable, effective June 7, 2026, the LAX/Metro Transit Center is the stop just south of Westchester/Veterans. Here is the trip from a Westchester platform to a terminal curb:
- Board the K Line at Westchester/Veterans heading south and ride one stop to LAX/Metro Transit Center.
- Transfer to the free Metro Connector Shuttle, which runs every day from 4:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and comes about every 10 minutes on average.
- For the trip home, wait at the pink LAX Shuttle sign on the Lower/Arrivals Level in front of your terminal.
- LAX shows shuttle locations live on its real-time shuttle tracker.
The shuttle's hours are the main limit. Red-eyes and early flights scheduled outside the 4:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. window need another way to the curb.
Several bus lines from other parts of the Westside also end at the Transit Center, so the pink shuttle connects with them too. The June 2026 K Line timetable lists Metro lines 102, 111, 117, 120 and 232, the 40 Owl, Big Blue Bus 3, Culver CityBus 6 and 6R, Beach Cities Transit 109, GTrans 5 and Torrance T8 at the station. Two of these have changed recently. Big Blue Bus dropped Rapid 3 in August 2025 and rerouted Route 3 to the Transit Center. Culver CityBus Line 6 runs between UCLA and the Transit Center, and Rapid 6 makes limited stops along Sepulveda on weekdays. Out-of-town guests flying into LAX for the holidays can ride Line 6 or Route 3 from the airport to the Westside.
The shuttles SkyLink was meant to replace are still on the terminal loop
According to the Daily Breeze, SkyLink is expected to eventually remove up to 3,200 shuttle trips a day from the Central Terminal Area. Until it opens, those buses share the terminal loop with private cars, and the loop is also under construction.
LAWA's ground transportation alert for November 1 through November 7 shows lane restrictions around the clock at the Terminal 4 arrivals and departures drop-off lanes through the fourth quarter of 2027. The Terminal 5 drop-off restrictions run through the second quarter of 2028. Both terminals are getting LAWA's modernization program, a full renewal of Terminal 4 and a refurbishment of Terminal 5, with completion expected in 2028. The same alert lists temporary shuttle stop moves at Terminals 2 and 6. When a pink LAX, green LAX-it or blue FlyAway stop is closed, passengers are directed to another terminal's stop.
Pickups also run through a bus. LAX-it, the taxi and rideshare lot next to Terminal 1, is still where arriving passengers meet their ride. Terminals 1 and 7 are a 3 to 8 minute walk from it, and Terminals 4 and 5 are about 19 minutes. A free shuttle leaves from the green LAX-it signs on the Lower/Arrivals Level. Taxis and ride apps can still drop departing passengers at the terminals. The Los Angeles Times reported that a new rideshare pickup area is planned to open with SkyLink and that LAX-it is expected to be phased out over time. With the train late, that change is also on hold.
If you'd rather drive, the price depends on booking
For anyone driving and parking, LAX Economy Parking is the airport's lot with a free terminal shuttle that runs 24 hours a day. The price depends on whether you book ahead:
| How you park | Listed price |
|---|---|
| Drive up | $8 first hour, $7 each additional 30 minutes, $35 maximum per 24 hours |
| Book ahead online | From $15 per day, with a guaranteed space and free changes or cancellations |
At the drive-up maximum, a five-day Thanksgiving trip costs $175. At the advertised starting rate for advance bookings, the same five days start at $75, though actual reservation prices depend on availability. LAWA notes that listed rates may change. Last year, the airport urged travelers to reserve parking ahead because its facilities could fill.
Picking someone up from a Westchester address works differently now that the cell phone lots are closed. LAWA's ATMP project update lists 6217 W 96th St and 5800 W Century Blvd as free places to wait until your party is ready. Because LAX's general parking page still describes the cell phone lots, check the current LAWA alert before heading out.
The street work that outlasts the train
SkyLink will eventually open. The roadwork around Westchester continues for years after that. LAWA's ATMP Roadway Improvements Project is reconfiguring 4.4 miles of roads to separate airport traffic and ease congestion on Sepulveda Boulevard and nearby streets. The ingress roadways are expected to be finished in May 2028, and the full project around mid-2030. The 96th Street segment between Sepulveda and Vicksburg remains closed through 2027.
LAWA keeps an ATMP roadway impacts page for closures and detours. It also runs a public ATMP Roadways Project Immersion Showroom in Skyview South, Suite 870, at 6033 W. Century Blvd., a short drive from most of Westchester.
Two upcoming dates affect holiday travelers. LAWA's late-October roadway bulletin scheduled overnight curbside installation at Terminal 1 for Friday, Nov. 20, from midnight to 8 a.m., and Terminal 1 concrete work for Monday, Nov. 30, during the same hours. Construction schedules can change, so check flylax.com for updates.
For a sense of the crowds, LAWA estimated nearly 2.5 million guests for its 2025 Thanksgiving period, from Thursday, Nov. 20, through Monday, Dec. 1. It expected more than 230,000 on the busiest day, Sunday, Nov. 30. LAWA advised arriving at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international ones. This year, Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26, and the comparable Sunday is Nov. 29.
If you're planning holiday travel or have guests flying in, and you'd like to talk about how LAX's construction is changing everyday life around your part of Westchester, Danny Mishevski is glad to help, whether that's which streets have changed or how the work affects your block. Let's Connect.
