Interchange Work Expected to Slow Traffic on Simi Freeway

Motorists entering or exiting the Simi Valley Freeway at Madera Road may experience some delays this week as one lane of the eastbound on-ramp will be closed for completion of the new cloverleaf interchange that is expected to open late next month.

Beginning at about 6 a.m. Thursday, traffic on the eastbound on-ramp will be restricted to one lane, and the ramp will be closed intermittently for periods of up to one hour, Simi Valley City Engineer George T. Berg said.

The traffic restrictions are expected to last a little more than a month, as workers rebuild the on-ramp so that it forms an arc, rather than a right-angle, onto the freeway, Berg said.

“It’ll be a long, sweeping curve,” he said, adding that the new design will speed traffic.

In addition, workers will close the existing westbound off-ramp at the intersection Thursday morning for widening and other repairs. But the closure should not affect traffic, because the new westbound off-ramp will be opened at the same time, Berg said.

The old westbound off-ramp will reopen when the rebuilt eastbound on-ramp and the four new ramps at the interchange open as scheduled in late August, he said.

The opening of the six-ramp interchange will represent the completion of a $3.4-million project begun last summer, Berg said. The completed interchange will allow both eastbound and westbound traffic to enter or exit the freeway on Madera Road, which is traveled by about 35,000 vehicles every day, he said.