EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Westbound Lanes of Freeway Could Reopen in 60 Days : Roads: Work on the damaged eastbound part of the Simi Valley Freeway could take a year. Alternate routes are suggested for those using still-open segments.

The westbound lanes of a five-mile stretch of the earthquake-damaged Simi Valley Freeway could be reopened in two months, but it could be a year before motorists can use an eastbound portion near Hayvenhurst Avenue, a Caltrans official said Thursday.

A 350-foot-long segment of the eastbound lanes, between the Hayvenhurst Avenue ramps eastward to where the freeway passes over Gothic Avenue, collapsed during Monday’s 6.6-magnitude earthquake and must be replaced, said Jim Roberts, Caltrans’ chief engineer.

The westbound lanes along this segment fell, but did not fully collapse, he said. “We’re not convinced we have to tear down the westbound part--we can shore it up,” Roberts said Thursday, three days after the earthquake forced closure of the freeway between Reseda Boulevard on the west and the Foothill Freeway on the east.

“And this time, when we rebuild that eastbound section, we’ll put more pilings and stronger columns under them,” he said.

Roberts and his staff inspected the damage as crews with heavy equipment worked day and night dismantling the collapsed portion--a project that began early Tuesday. He said they expect to finish by week’s end--at a cost of $500,000.

It will cost about $1.5 million to replace the eastbound lanes alone, Roberts said, adding that this sum would double if engineers decide the westbound lanes must also be rebuilt.

Also closed--and slightly damaged by the earthquake--is the freeway’s Balboa Boulevard overpass, about half a mile west of Hayvenhurst Avenue.

Here, torrents from a water main that burst on Balboa Boulevard just north of the freeway washed out portions of soil and underpinnings at the eastbound exit and entry ramps, Hoadley said. Also, he said, two concrete pillars that extend from the freeway median to the overpass have cracked.

Roberts said the bridge can be repaired quickly, without having to be torn down.

Minor damage, he said, occurred on ramps that connect the freeway with the San Diego Freeway, as well as along portions near the Foothill Freeway.

Caltrans officials suggest the following alternate routes for motorists who use the still-open portions of the Simi Valley Freeway:

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EASTBOUND: Exit at De Soto Avenue or Tampa Avenue south to Devonshire Street. Left on Devonshire Street to the southbound San Diego Freeway--or right on Arleta Avenue, then left on Van Nuys Boulevard to the Golden State Freeway or the Foothill Freeway.

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WESTBOUND: From the northbound San Diego Freeway, exit at Roscoe Boulevard or Devonshire Street, left to Tampa Avenue or De Soto Avenue, right to the westbound Simi Valley Freeway.

From the westbound Foothill Freeway, exit on Foothill Boulevard, west to Van Nuys Boulevard to northbound Arleta Avenue. Continue west on Devonshire Street, north on Tampa Avenue or De Soto Avenue to the Simi Valley Freeway.

Meanwhile, as work crews tore apart the freeway’s collapsed segment they kicked up clouds of dust amid an almost nonstop, rat-a-tat racket.

“Between the aftershocks and this, if you get an hour of sleep each night, you’re lucky,” said Florence Hoffman, who lives on nearby Swinton Street.

Her husband, Clarence, stood in front of a small house and watched heavy equipment operators knock down chunks of concrete, separating them from tangles of gnarled reinforcing steel, as a seemingly interminable procession of trucks hauled away the debris.

“I don’t know how any of these men can stand the noise,” he said.

Simi Valley Freeway Damage

It could be two months before the westbound Simi Valley Freeway between Reseda Boulevard and the Foothill Freeway reopens - and a year before a collapsed eastbound portion near Hayvenhurst Avenue is rebuilt. Monday’s earthquake also caused damage to the Balboa boulevard overpass.

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Alternate Routes * Eastbound: Exit onto southbound DeSoto Avenue or Tampa Avenue to Devonshire Street, left on Devonshire Street to southbound San Diego Freeway or right on Arleta Avenue, left on Van Nuys Boulevard to the Golden State Freeway or the Foothill Freeway.

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* Westbound: From northbound San Diego Freeway, exit at Roscoe Boulevard or Devonshire Street, left to Tampa Avenue or DeSoto Avenue, right to westbound Simi Valley Freeway.

From westbound Foothill Freeway (210), exit on Foothill Boulevard, west to Van Nurys Boulevard to northbound Arleta Avenue, proceed west on Devonshire Street, north on Tampa Avenue to DeSoto Avenue to the Simi Valley Freeway.

Source: Caltrans; Research by JEFF PRUGH / Los Angeles Times