Countywide : 2 O.C. Interchanges Among State’s Worst

Orange County is home to the fifth- and ninth-most congested traffic interchanges in the state, Caltrans has determined.

In ranking the state’s top 10 congested interchanges of 1989, the California Department of Transportation found that the linkup of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways has 484,500 vehicles a day--fifth-highest in the state. The ninth-worst interchange is the connection of the Orange and Riverside freeways, with 434,500 vehicles a day.

Nine of the top 10 congested interchanges were in Southern California. Los Angeles County had seven of the 10 most heavily used freeway connectors.

The most traffic-choked interchange in the state is the connection of the Golden State, Santa Monica, Pomona and Hollywood freeways in East Los Angeles, Caltrans said. That is also the most heavily traveled highway link in the nation, the agency said. The interchange had an average of 547,000 vehicles a day in 1989--an increase of 15,500 vehicles from 1988.

No. 2 was the linkup of the Santa Monica and San Diego freeways in Los Angeles County; No. 3 was the Santa Monica and Harbor freeways interchange; No. 4 was the Ventura and San Diego freeway interchange; No. 6 was the connection of the Artesia and San Gabriel River freeways; No. 7 was the linkup of the Harbor and San Diego freeways; No. 8, the connection of the Eastshore, MacArthur and Nimitz freeways in Alameda County; and No. 10, the linkup of the Golden State and Long Beach freeways in Los Angeles County.

Orange County Transportation Commission member Clarice Blamer said the Caltrans survey shows how the traffic situation in the county is worsening because of residential growth in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

“To alleviate some of that congestion, the Orange County Traffic Commission has been proceeding with plans for adding lanes to the 57,” Blamer said.

She said, however, that the plans cannot be put into effect without state money. She said that two propositions, if approved by voters June 5, would provide such funding. Proposition 111 would increase the gasoline tax and earmark the money for highway use. Proposition 108 calls for a $1-billion bond issue to finance rapid transit. Busiest Orange County Highway Interchanges * An average of 434,500 vehicles a day pass through the Orange and Riverside freeways Interchange-the ninth-most congested in the state. * An average of 484,500 vehicles a day pass through the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways interchange-the fifth-busiest in the state. Source: Caltrans