Detour Route Opened to Ease Traffic for Commuters

In an effort to ease traffic for Santa Clarita commuters, a detour route opened late Tuesday evening near the southbound Golden State Freeway at McBean Parkway.

The new detour links McBean Parkway to Pico Canyon Road, giving residents in the Stevenson Ranch area easier access to the Golden State Freeway, said Jean Granucci, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

“It will add another route for commuters to take,” Granucci said.

Ramps to the southbound freeway at McBean Parkway were closed after the Northridge earthquake in January so that Caltrans workers could perform repairs, Granucci said. Nearby residents can now take McBean to Pico and enter and leave the freeway at Lyons Avenue, Granucci said.

County workers completed the temporary two-lane link on McBean two days ahead of schedule. “It should significantly reduce traffic caused by the Caltrans freeway repair,” Granucci said.

Meanwhile, reconstruction of ramps linking northbound and southbound traffic lanes between the Antelope Valley Freeway and the Golden State Freeway is expected to be completed as scheduled by July 28, Caltrans spokeswoman Patricia Reid said.

A contract is also expected to be awarded next month to rebuild a pair of ramps linking southbound and northbound traffic lanes of the two freeways, Reid said. The interchange project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.