Earthquake: The Long Road Back : Quake Puts Traffic Congestion Into Overdrive : Transportation: With collapse of freeways, tens of thousands of cars are being rerouted into the city.

Years before the 6.6-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc on this burgeoning bedroom community, Santa Clarita had a miserable problem with traffic.

On Jan. 17, the problem went from miserable to monumental.

With the collapse of portions of the Antelope Valley and Golden State freeways in the Santa Clarita area, tens of thousands of cars are being rerouted onto the city’s roadways.

Cars are inching along Santa Clarita’s major arteries at a snail’s pace, with delays in some areas exceeding two hours.

“We’re getting a lot of complaints because the internal roads that get (residents) to the freeways are clogged,” said Santa Clarita Mayor George Pederson.

The crowded roads are just one of the problems Santa Clarita is facing in the wake of the temblor.

City estimates of quake damage in the area were put at $193 million Thursday, including $77 million in damage to private property. So far, 50 homes, businesses and other structures have been declared uninhabitable and that number, along with the dollar value of losses, could rise as inspections continue.

Although water service has been restored almost throughout the city, residents can’t trust what comes out of the tap. Eleven days after the quake, the area remains on an indefinite boil-water order.

William S. Hart High School, the last of Santa Clarita’s public schools to remain closed, is expected to open today for its first full day of classes since the tremor hit. Because of the heavy traffic on nearby streets, students will not be allowed to leave campus for lunch.

Damage to roads and bridges in the city is estimated at more than $15 million.

“We have a lot of roads that have got cracks in them. We have a lot of damage to a lot of our bridges,” Pederson said, noting that although some roads have had to close, most remain usable.

Nearly all the city’s heaviest-traveled roads escaped damage but are now burdened by the extra traffic.

Such major roadways as San Fernando Road, Lyons Avenue and Soledad Canyon Road are carrying much more traffic than they are designed to, Pederson said.

The much-anticipated opening of two lanes on the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway to the Golden State Freeway will not occur today as hoped. Caltrans officials Thursday said that the truck lanes, which will provide the first direct freeway link from the Santa Clarita Valley to the San Fernando Valley since the quake, will be open in time for the Monday morning commute. A bypass off the damaged Golden State Freeway onto the Old Road is also expected to be ready Monday.

The changes on the two freeways are continuously affecting Santa Clarita’s internal road network.

Even Metrolink, which is helping to keep thousands of cars off the freeways, is causing problems in Santa Clarita.

“People using Metrolink are helping us a great deal but when they get (off the train), they’ve got to get on these small roads,” said Sgt. Lee White of the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station.

The agency has deputies stationed on Soledad Canyon Road at the Metrolink station to help with traffic flow, White said.

“We never expected this much traffic,” he said. “It’s opened up our eyes.”

Pederson said the city has gotten through the disaster stage and is now moving into the recovery process, which could take years, however.

The Santa Clarita Community Service Food Source today will begin distributing non-perishable food from 20 sites throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.