Caltrans Predicts 10-Mile Jam on Ventura Freeway

State Department of Transportation officials are predicting a backup of at least 10 miles on the westbound Ventura Freeway during weekends through the end of July unless motorists use other routes to avoid stepped-up widening work on the freeway.

Caltrans officials said three westbound lanes will be closed in Tarzana and Woodland Hills from midnight Friday to 11 a.m. Saturday and again from midnight Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday.

Between White Oak Avenue and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, only one lane and the outside shoulder will be available for traffic, which is often swelled by beach-bound motorists on warm Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The same lane-closing pattern will continue for six weekends, with the exception of the Fourth of July weekend, Caltrans officials said.

Richard Kermode, Caltrans senior resident engineer for the project, said traffic counts indicate that unless large numbers of motorists avoid the westbound Ventura Freeway on Saturday and Sunday mornings, “the backup will stretch for at least 10 miles,” tying up “not only the 101 Freeway but also the San Diego and Hollywood freeways and connecting roadways.”

And the backup could continue well into the afternoon, Kermode said.

“The worst-case scenario would be a near round-the-clock traffic backup throughout the weekend,” he said.

Kermode suggests that motorists on local trips use Vanowen Street or Victory Boulevard as alternatives to the westbound Ventura.

Eastbound freeway lanes will not be affected.

The lane closings are part of a 16-month, $18.3-million widening of the Ventura Freeway from six to eight lanes between Topanga Canyon and Valley Circle boulevards.

The project, which began in February, also includes adding a fifth westbound lane between White Oak Avenue and Topanga, and resurfacing several areas of broken pavement.

Caltrans officials said the lanes must be closed weekend mornings to allow sufficient drying time for specially reinforced concrete slabs on either side of freeway overpasses.

Previously, all lane closings in connection with the project have occurred between the late evening and early morning hours.