CAMARILLO : Temporary Traffic Measures Planned

Temporary traffic improvements planned for the Carmen Drive interchange in Camarillo will keep traffic snarls from worsening there until construction of a new bridge and off-ramps for the Ventura Freeway can be completed, city officials said.

But city Engineering Director Dan Greeley said traffic problems at the interchange will not improve until Caltrans can start an $11-million joint project that will widen the bridge over the freeway and reconstruct the off-ramps.

That may not happen until the turn of the century, he said, because of a delay in obtaining the state’s $4.4-million share.

Unless the city can come up with some “creative financing” to loan the state the money, he said, the project cannot get started any earlier.

“That doesn’t mean development can’t continue,” Greeley said.

Two developers whose projects are expected to add more traffic to the already troubled area have agreed to help pay for the temporary improvements, which will include adding dual left-turn lanes to the southbound off-ramp and widening Ventura Boulevard. These improvements would have to be completed before the two developments are completed, Greeley said.