Tunnels Under Freeway in Arleta Called Unsafe, Sealed : Maintenance: Caltrans paid the $80,000 cost as part of a Golden State widening project. Neighbors complained of hazard to pedestrians.

Two pedestrian tunnels in Arleta that residents said were unsafe were officially closed Friday.

The permanent sealing of the tunnels under the Golden State Freeway at Montague and Kagel Canyon streets was approved 10-0 by the Los Angeles City Council at the request of Councilman Joel Wachs.

The tunnels were actually boarded up in October. They will be permanently sealed ahead of 15 others awaiting the same fate because Caltrans paid the $80,000 cost as part of a Golden State Freeway widening project, said James J. McCarthy, assistant to the Caltrans director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The state transportation agency is spending $8.6 million to add a lane to the freeway between the Simi Valley and Hollywood freeways, he said.

The two Arleta tunnels will be filled with dirt and sand to prevent methane and other gases from accumulating, he said, and they will be sealed with concrete.

The city is ordinarily responsible for the closure costs. Caltrans agreed to pay after lobbying by the Arleta Chamber of Commerce and Residents Assn., said Jose Bonilla, the group’s president.

“People were going to the restroom in there, there were dead animals rotting in there, graffiti and broken glass,” Bonilla said. “They were wise in doing it now because the city was not maintaining the tunnels, and there was a potential for liability there.”

Arleta residents are helping maintain three remaining local tunnels under the Golden State Freeway, Bonilla said. As often as is necessary, Rachel Lizarraga grabs paint, a broom and a shovel and tackles the Filmore Street tunnel; Joe Hoistad, one on Tonopah Avenue, and Bonilla himself the Pierce Street passageway, he said.

Of the 219 pedestrian tunnels in Los Angeles, 49 have been permanently sealed in the past 30 years, said Hideo Kiso, an engineer for the city’s structural engineering division. Another 20 have been boarded up with plywood, he said.

The city cannot afford to shut 15 additional tunnels that residents want closed. It costs up to $50,000 to permanently shut a tunnel, Kiso said.