Widening of Two Freeways Postponed for Third Time

For a third time, the long-awaited widening of the Ventura and Hollywood freeways has been delayed--this time until December to allow traffic coordinators to refine plans for relieving congestion.

The three-year, $39-million widening project most recently had been scheduled to begin in June. But state Department of Transportation officials said Monday that they have encountered unexpected delays in working out plans to keep traffic moving during construction.

Caltrans has earmarked nearly $2 million for electronic message signs, a radio transmitter to broadcast to motorists information on bypass routes and for signs along alternate routes advising drivers to avoid the construction area.

When the project is completed in 1991, there will be five lanes in each direction from the Hollywood Freeway in downtown Los Angeles to Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the Ventura Freeway. There will be four lanes each way from Topanga Canyon to Thousand Oaks, where the freeway now narrows to three lanes each way.

The widening originally was to begin in mid-1985. Previous delays have been attributed to the slow progress of design work and to the 11th-hour insistence by the Federal Highway Administration, which is paying 85% of the cost, that several overpasses be widened as part of the project.