Pact Paves Way for New Freeway Link in Canyon Country

After more than two years of negotiations, Los Angeles County and Southern Pacific railroad officials have agreed to a contract that will allow the building of a four-lane bridge across railroad land in Canyon Country.

The bridge, which will cost about $20 million, is the first phase of a highway project that eventually will link heavily traveled Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus to the Antelope Valley Freeway in Canyon Country, said Jean Granucci, spokeswoman for the county Public Works Department.

The project’s main purpose is to open a second access route to the fast-growing Bouquet Canyon area, providing relief from daily rush-hour traffic jams, officials said.

But the bridge also will provide a second route to the 1,200-home American Beauty Classics development. Presently, Rainbow Glen Drive, which crosses the railroad tracks, is the only major access to the housing tract. At times, residents have been trapped in their neighborhood for up to an hour by halted trains.

Richard Aldrich, a member of the American Beauty Classics Homeowners Assn. board, said residents fear that in the event of a train derailment or toxic spill, “emergency vehicles couldn’t get in to us and we couldn’t get out.”

Building of the bridge, approved by the county in October, has been stalled by the negotiations, which have been going on with the railroad since 1986.

“It’s basically an exchange of land,” she said. “The county will relocate the track to a new right-of-way agreed to by the railroad.”

The contract must be approved by the Santa Clarita City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors before it becomes official, Granucci said.

Work on the bridge is expected to begin next month and take between 12 and 18 months. The money comes from a fee imposed on land developers in the northeastern half of the city, Granucci said.

In the project’s second phase, Plum Canyon Road will be extended from Bouquet Canyon east to Whites Canyon Road, and Whites Canyon Road will be extended via the bridge across the Santa Clara River to Via Princessa and the freeway.