County Seeks to Use Funds for Bridge

Ventura County officials asked the state Transportation Commission Thursday to use money saved on construction of the connector link between the Simi Valley and Moorpark freeways toward replacement of the aging Saticoy Bridge.

County officials said they need the $16 million over-budgeted for the freeway connector to cover cost increases on a new bridge and to ensure that other transportation projects in the county are not delayed.

Further delays on several interchange improvements along the Ventura Freeway will only drive up the cost of those projects, they said.

“We’re asking the commission to help us avoid needless delays of our projects and ultimately save the state some dollars as well,” Susan Lacey, chairwoman of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, told state officials at a meeting in Ventura.

“Ventura County is not asking the commission to give us more than we are entitled to but simply to expedite our fair share,” she said.

Lacey stressed that because the county does not have a sales tax measure to qualify for matching transportation funds from the state, it is crucial that it retain the money left over from the freeway connector project.

Otherwise, she said, the county will have to use money set aside for the Ventura Freeway improvements so that construction on the badly needed new bridge can remain on schedule.

About 24,000 vehicles a day cross the two-lane Saticoy Bridge, according to Caltrans officials. An average of about 2,200 vehicles pass over the bridge at peak rush hours, causing major traffic tie-ups along California 118.

County officials said construction of a new four-lane bridge and widening of the connecting roadway will help ease congestion.

The state Transportation Commission, which decides how much money will be allocated for state highway projects, will consider the county’s request in September when it is scheduled to vote on funding for the new bridge.

“We’ll do what we can to be of assistance,” commission Chairman Bruce Nestande told Lacey and other county officials present at the meeting.

Nestande, however, said earlier that it is not the custom of the panel to transfer funds from one project to another. He said the commission normally waits until a project is completed before deciding what it will do with leftover money.

Lacey said she is confident that the commission will grant the county’s request because it will help keep the cost of other projects down by keeping them on schedule.

“It will save the state money,” she said. “We think it’s a good, common-sense approach.”

In December, Caltrans increased the estimated cost for a new Saticoy Bridge and widening of the connecting roadway from $24 million to $30 million. Rising land prices were blamed for the additional cost.

Ginger Gherardi, executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, said bids on the project are scheduled to go out in September after the state commission approves funding for it. She said construction of the new bridge and widening of adjoining sections of California 118 from two to four lanes will probably begin early next year.

The widening of the roadway will stretch 2.3 miles, from Vineyard Avenue to the California 118 overpass above the Santa Paula Freeway.

Lois Cooper, Caltrans project manager, said the entire project will take at least two years to complete and will be done in two phases. She said construction of the new bridge is part of the first phase.

In other action Thursday, state officials allocated $322,000 for the resurfacing of 10 on- and off-ramps along the Santa Paula and Ventura freeways in Ventura.