Local News in Brief : $342,000 Offer Settles Caltrans Suit

The state Department of Transportation has agreed to pay nearly $342,000 to the Downey Unified School District, which had filed a lawsuit to try to recover costs of protecting students from dust and noise from construction of the Century Freeway. The lawsuit settlement concluded nine months of negotiations between the district and Caltrans.

District Supt. Edward A. Sussman said the construction noise and dust contributed to a 25% decline in third-grade scores on standardized tests in the 1987-88 school year at Ward Elementary School, located about 400 yards from the freeway construction area.

Before an air-conditioning unit was installed in August, teachers were forced to conduct classes with windows and doors closed, Sussman said. “Sometimes it would be so hot that the kids couldn’t concentrate, and they had to open at least a window. Then the dust would come through, and the noise would be so loud they couldn’t hear the teacher.”

Caltrans agreed to pay $341,714 to cover transportation costs that resulted from the freeway construction and to help pay for installation and operation of a new air-conditioning unit.

Sussman said students who usually walked to Ward and Carpenter elementary schools have been taken by bus to avoid “a critical construction zone.” Construction is scheduled to be at a stage in June that will allow students to resume walking to school.