County Officials to Revive Effort to Widen Simi Freeway

Seeking to recover from a setback two months ago, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission on Wednesday voted to reapply for state approval to widen sections of the Simi Valley Freeway in Chatsworth and California 126 in Santa Clarita.

Commissioners moved to ask the state to approve $6 million to expand the Simi Valley Freeway from six to eight lanes over the two miles from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to the Ventura County line.

Also sought is allocation of $8.7 million to widen a half-mile stretch of State 126 from Valencia Boulevard to San Fernando Road.

Because all available state highway construction money already has been allocated to other projects, commissioners voted to ask for state permission to shift the money from other local projects the state has already agreed to fund.

In a further effort to make the projects palatable to the state, commissioners sharply reduced the scope of the Simi Valley Freeway request, eliminating a second phase that would have expanded the freeway to 10 lanes from the Golden State Freeway to the Ventura County line.

Linda Bohlinger, the county commission’s director of capital planning, said that the ninth and 10 lanes will be proposed again in the future as car-pool lanes, in the hope that will entice state officials to approve the request.

County commissioners were stunned in September when the California Transportation Commission deleted the two widening projects from a list of $5.4 billion in statewide transportation improvements.

The state commission was dividing proceeds from state gasoline tax and rail bond measures approved June 5.

The two county projects failed to win approval because the state commission unexpectedly decided to alter its method of allocating money to give a larger share to counties that have increased the local sales tax to help pay road-building expenses.

Although Los Angeles County voters have approved an extra 1-cent sales tax, almost all of the money has been earmarked for rail and bus projects.

Bohlinger said she expects the state commission to take up the revised application on Jan. 23, adding, “We have every hope we will do better this time.”