Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Stretch of Magic Mountain Road to Close for 18 Months as Bridge Is Replaced

A half-mile stretch of Magic Mountain Parkway will close next week for 18 months while a bridge over the Santa Clara River’s south fork is replaced by a wider one, city officials announced Monday.

The thoroughfare, which runs southeast from Valencia Boulevard and feeds into San Fernando Road, is a segment of California 126 and part of a $23-million road-widening by the city, county and state that began in January, 1990.

This second of three phases of construction on the project costs $12 million, with Santa Clarita paying $2 million and Caltrans paying the remainder. Los Angeles County designed this phase but incurred no construction expenses.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. The road will be closed beginning Monday and remain so until December, 1995.

The work includes demolishing the two-lane bridge in favor of a four-lane span, reconfiguring the intersection of Magic Mountain Parkway at San Fernando Road and adding a traffic signal.

Although closure of the busy road shifts traffic onto other intersections, city officials say leaving the road open during construction would delay the work through mid-1996 and add more than $100,000 to the cost.

“If they had to keep it open, it would take six months more,” said city spokeswoman Gail Foy.

Residents who live off that section of Magic Mountain Parkway will be allowed to drive to and from their homes.

Cinema Drive, which runs south from Valencia Boulevard east of Magic Mountain Parkway, was extended earlier this month to connect with San Fernando Road in order to ease some of the traffic problems caused by the closure.