Traffic Snarls Easing, but Not for Long : More Street Construction Projects to Vex Drivers

The worst is over for San Fernando Valley motorists caught in construction-triggered traffic congestion in recent months.

After a six-month flurry of paving that included 11 major projects, work is starting to slack off. On the other hand, two major projects are about to begin on Roscoe Boulevard, which is among the Valley’s most congested thoroughfares, and others are under way on Vanowen Street and on Plummer Street.

In addition, two major storm drain projects are about to begin on heavily traveled Ventura Boulevard and on Magnolia Boulevard.

Finally, the $9.2-million East Valley Interceptor Sewer project, which started a year ago, will continue to vex motorists in Van Nuys and Panorama City for at least another year, city officials report.

The stepped-up pace of paving in recent months was triggered by a special state appropriation, most of it taken from California’s share of offshore oil drilling revenue.

In October, 1985, the Legislature voted to give $250 million in such funds to cities and counties. Los Angeles’ share was $29.4 million.

Most of the projects earmarked for the special funds in the Valley got under way in late 1986.

The change in the rate of work was dramatic.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1986, there was $1.4 million in street work in the Valley. But for the current year, the total jumped to $6.4 million.

Street engineers in the Valley used the one-time windfall to work on a backlog of street reconstruction projects.

Most of the projects had already been designed, said Louie S. Yamanishi, assistant district engineer for the city’s Bureau of Engineering. Thus work could be started on many of the projects in the relatively short time of about a year from when the appropriation was made, he said.

Simultaneous Work

As a result, an unusually large number of major projects affecting many of the Valley’s major thoroughfares was under way at the same time, city officials say.

Yamanishi described the recent months as a “very, very busy time for road work in the Valley and throughout the city.”

Most of the paving projects include replacement of a street’s underbase and pavement, a tedious process that requires crews to block off half of a street for weeks at a time, then block off the other half.

Storm drain projects usually require massive upheaval of streets and pavements.

In addition to major projects designed by the Bureau of Engineering, the city’s Bureau of Street Maintenance, which uses city crews rather than private contractors, makes smaller street repairs.

Small Projects’ Congestion

However, many of the smaller projects cause congestion nearly equal to those projects large enough to be contracted out, said a spokesman for the street maintenance bureau.

Major streets, portions of which have been torn up and repaved in recent months, include Roscoe and Sepulveda boulevards, White Oak and Winnetka avenues and Sherman Way.

But probably the single biggest scourge Valley motorists will have to endure in the coming year is the ongoing massive sewer project in Van Nuys and Panorama City.

When completed, the sewer line will lead from the newly opened Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in the Sepulveda Basin to the intersection of Lassen Street and Lemona Avenue.

From its northern terminus, the line will follow Woodman Avenue south for more than two miles, then Hart Street, Tyrone Avenue, Kittridge Street, Columbus Avenue, Hamlin Street, Firmament Avenue and Victory Boulevard. MAJOR STREET AND STORM DRAIN PROJECTS IN THE VALLEY

1--Lassen Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard; storm drain; cost: $242,000; begun in February.

2--Roscoe Boulevard from Canoga Avenue to Topanga Canyon Boulevard; street paving; cost: $377,668; to begin in May.

3--Shoup Avenue and Sherman Way; storm drain; cost: $269,000; begun in June, 1986.

4--Vanowen Street from Farralone Avenue to Fallbrook Avenue; street paving; cost: $633,000; begun in January.

5--Plummer Street from Hayvenhurst Avenue to Balboa Boulevard; paving work being done by city crews; cost unavailable; begun in March.

6--Roscoe Boulevard from Ventura Canyon Avenue to Van Nuys Boulevard; paving; cost: $335,000; to begin in June.

7--Ventura Boulevard and Beverly Glen Boulevard; storm drain; cost: $307,000; to begin in June.

8--Magnolia Boulevard from Cahuenga Boulevard to Cartwright Avenue; cost: $280,000; to begin in June.