Norwalk Balks at Design of Freeway Off-Ramps

The City Council has called for a halt in construction of the Century Freeway in Norwalk until the off-ramp system can be redesigned to avoid clogging city streets.

The council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night requesting that the California Department of Transportation stop construction on the eastern end of the I-105. The council also directed City Atty. Steven L. Dorsey to investigate whether the city could obtain a court order, if necessary, to stop construction.

City officials said they decided to go on the offensive after earlier efforts failed to produce improvements in the off-ramp system, which is under construction. A May, 1987, letter to Caltrans, for example, told of the city’s traffic concerns. City officials fear that portions of Imperial Highway and Studebaker Road will become gridlocked once the Century Freeway opens and a planned park-and-ride lot and light-rail transit station are put into operation.

“Sometimes it takes more than a carrot in front of a mule to move him,” Councilman Robert E. White said before the vote.

City officials, backed by state Sen. Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk), are scheduled to meet in Sacramento today with Caltrans officials to try to resolve their differences. City Manager Richard R. Powers also said the city wants a guarantee from Caltrans that the agency will pay for any street improvements that become necessary once the freeway is completed.

Caltrans District Director Jerry Baxter said his agency will present a new off-ramp plan to city staff members on Friday. But Baxter declined to provide details of the plan because of the continuing negotiations with Norwalk. Baxter said there is little chance that construction of the freeway would be stopped.

“I think there are ways to work it out without stopping construction,” Baxter said. “We think we have a solution.”

At the center of the dispute is a new off-ramp system to serve a park-and-ride lot and a light-rail station that will be built where the Century Freeway crosses over the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway and abruptly ends. The facility is expected to draw hundreds of motorists from both the Century Freeway and the 605.

To provide access, Caltrans is building an off-ramp from the northbound 605 that will route traffic onto Imperial Highway. Motorists would have to travel east on Imperial Highway and then south on Studebaker Road to reach the entrance of the park-and-ride lot and the rail station. Motorists traveling southbound on the 605 would exit on Imperial and use the same roadways to reach the park-and-ride lot. Traffic coming off the Century Freeway would exit directly onto Studebaker and enter into the park-and-ride lot.

Norwalk officials and a group called Citizens Under Freeway Fallout (CUFF) would like northbound traffic from the 605 to be channeled almost directly into the park-and-ride lot and kept off Imperial and Studebaker. Motorists traveling south on the 605 would exit on Imperial Highway and be channeled down Hoxie Avenue, instead of heading further east on Imperial to Studebaker.

A November, 1988, engineering report prepared for the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission indicates that the alternate plan would reduce traffic congestion in the area. The Transportation Commission is overseeing development of the light-rail line that runs down the 105 Freeway and the Norwalk rail-transit station at the line’s eastern end. Bus lines also will serve the area.

The park-and-ride lot will contain 2,000 spaces, and about 950 vehicles are expected to arrive during the morning peak hour alone, according to the Transportation Commission report.

Baxter said Caltrans decided on the current off-ramp design because it would channel traffic away from some residential areas. He said there are some design problems associated with the alternate plan, which would require the relocation of a planned bus turnaround. The alternate system would cost an additional $1.5 million, the Transportation Commission report said.

Most Urgent Objective

“The cost does not determine our concern,” Baxter said. “We’re more concerned with getting a proper design, one we can all accept.”

Powers, the city manager, said changing the ramp design is the most pressing objective. But he said he also will seek a guarantee that Caltrans will pay for any local street improvements that become necessary. That could include sound walls and street closures to deal with traffic problems. Powers and residents, for example, fear that motorists will get off the Century Freeway and use city streets to reach the nearby Santa Ana Freeway.

CUFF chairwoman Nancy Luque said Caltrans should bend over backwards to make sure area residents are satisfied. Luque lives several blocks from the end of the Century Freeway and the park-and-ride lot.

“This thing is going to be here to stay,” she said. “Caltrans does not have a right to dictate to the citizens what’s acceptable.”