Beverly Glen to Be Closed 2 Months for Roadwork

If you commute between the San Fernando Valley and the city’s Westside, expect an already bad drive to get worse.

Beverly Glen Boulevard, a major thoroughfare between the Valley and Westside, will be closed for two months, beginning June 20, for resurfacing and storm-drain improvements.

The work will pour 2,300 more cars per hour during peak periods onto other, already congested cross-mountain routes, most likely the San Diego Freeway, Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Laurel Canyon and Sepulveda boulevards.

“I think that we’re going to have gridlock,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., who commutes to his Century City law office by way of Beverly Glen. “The alternate routes are already at capacity.”

1,800 Drivers Use Route

Beverly Glen, only two lanes wide in many places, is the most heavily traveled cross-mountain route between the Hollywood and San Diego freeways, according to city traffic engineers. About 1,800 Valley residents traverse Beverly Glen an hour during the morning rush period to reach the Westside, and an equal number return at night.

About 550 Westsiders come into the Valley an hour by way of Beverly Glen during the morning peak period, and about 700 use Beverly Glen to leave at night.

City traffic engineers have put together an ambitious plan to head off problems during the roadwork. The plan includes:

* Restriping Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway to add a third traffic lane in each direction.

* Installing traffic lights at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Mulholland Drive and at Sepulveda Boulevard and the on-ramp to the southbound San Diego Freeway south of Valley Vista Boulevard.

* Prohibiting parking during rush hour on Ventura Boulevard between Beverly Glen and Van Nuys boulevards and on Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway.

* Stationing traffic officers around the construction area to control traffic and respond to problems.

Residents will be allowed in and out of the area during the construction.

Before the project gets under way, city workers will stand on street corners and hand out maps of alternate routes to motorists. A meeting to explain the project to residents of the area will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 12229 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Commuters Diverted

Meanwhile, related work will begin May 2 when crews close Valley Vista Boulevard between Beverly Glen and Van Nuys boulevards to start on the storm drain project. Commuters who use Valley Vista to reach Beverly Glen will be diverted to Moorpark Avenue and Ventura Boulevard until Beverly Glen is closed.

Valley Vista between Beverly Glen and Van Nuys boulevards, and Beverly Glen between Valley Vista and Mulholland Drive will remain closed until Aug. 20. No construction is planned on Beverly Glen south of Mulholland.

The $1.4-million storm drain project is designed to relieve flooding that occurs in the area during major storms, said John Engeman, an engineer with the Los Angeles County Public Works Department. The project was scheduled during the summer because of the reduction in traffic from school vacations.

The resurfacing work will cost $400,000.

The project comes at a time when Valley commuters are already experiencing a headache from a recently started four-year widening of the Ventura Freeway.

Close, meanwhile, has his own plan for dealing with what he predicts will be a mess. “I’m going on vacation,” he said.