SANTA CLARITA : Last Hearing on Highway Scheduled

The California Department of Transportation will hold a final public hearing today on the extension of California 126 through the Santa Clarita Valley.

The meeting at the Santa Clarita City Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd., will be from 4 to 7 p.m. It will be the last public meeting on the matter before the California Transportation Commission makes a decision on the highway route.

The proposed nine-mile, eight-lane extension of the state highway would connect the Golden State Freeway at the Castaic junction and the Antelope Valley Freeway near Via Princessa Drive.

An advisory committee that includes local representatives has agreed that the route would run parallel to the Santa Clara River for most of its length. But the group has not decided whether it should run south around the river just east of Bouquet Canyon Road or north around the river.

There will be two formal presentations of the two alternatives, one beginning at 5 p.m. and another at 6:30 p.m. An open house will precede each to allow residents to study maps and reports on the proposed project.