State OKs Widening of Ventura Freeway
Although they protested a doubling of the projected cost, state transportation officials on Thursday gave final approval to a $41.3-million widening of the traffic-clogged Ventura Freeway through the San Fernando Valley.
Work on the freeway could begin as early as October, Caltrans officials said, although there is a lingering threat of a lawsuit that could delay the project.
The Santa Monica-based Coalition for Clean Air, which in May filed a legally required notice of intent to sue, wants the project redesigned to include an eastbound “diamond lane” that would be restricted to car pools and buses.
Meeting in the Northern California city of Fremont, members of the California Transportation Commission expressed dismay that the widening cost had increased by more than $20 million in two years, but then gave their assent to the long-delayed project.
The 101 Freeway, which handles 280,000 vehicles daily, now is a patchwork of eight- and 10-lane-wide sections. It is to be widened to a uniform 10 lanes from Universal City to Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Woodland Hills, a 15-mile stretch.
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