SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : State Allocates $11.8 Million to Improve Simi Freeway
The California Transportation Commission allocated $11.8 million this week to widen portions of the Simi Valley Freeway and install car-pool lanes.
The freeway will be widened in both directions from just west of the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties to the Golden State Freeway. The project will include adding two mixed-flow lanes, two car-pool lanes and two park-and-ride lots (one near the San Diego Freeway and another at Winnetka Avenue in the San Fernando Valley). The car-pool lanes, stretching 12 miles, will be reserved for vehicles carrying two or more people.
Construction is expected to begin in December and be completed by the end of 1996. The total cost of the work is $27 million, with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority contributing $15.7 million. Currently, there are 65 miles of car-pool lanes in Los Angeles County, a network that Caltrans officials plan to expand.
The car-pool program “is designed to significantly increase the capacity of the freeway system in a relatively short time and at minimal cost,” said Jerry Baxter, director of the local Caltrans district.
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