Holiday Weekend Exodus May Prove Trying : Transportation: In addition to the usual airport throngs, motorists are expected to crowd onto quake-damaged freeways.

If you thought it was tough to get out of town early on past Memorial Day weekends, try doing it on quake-damaged freeways. Or don’t.

Traffic officials warned motorists Thursday that the usual holiday rush will be even more trying this year as drivers are expected to leave the city via several key freeways that have not yet been repaired.

“The best advice I can give to people is to allow extra time to go to and from places because there will almost certainly be delays,” Caltrans spokesman Russ Snyder said.

Local airports, campgrounds, golf courses and fishing holes are also expected to be swamped beginning today as thousands get a jump on the weekend by leaving work or school early for the traditional start of summer.

The weather, for the most part, is expected to cooperate. There will be night and morning low clouds and patchy fog before the sun breaks through in the afternoon, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. Highs will be in the 60s at the beaches to the mid-70s in the valleys.

While the holiday has traditionally been a time when people pack their cars and hit the open road, traffic officials said they will be monitoring roadways more closely this year, as the holiday weekend is expected to give the local freeway system its first big test of holiday-driving madness since the Jan. 17 earthquake.

Caltrans officials are particularly worried about the interchange of the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways, the site of an overpass collapse caused by the quake. The Golden State Freeway now has two lanes available for traffic and one designated for slow-moving trucks. Before the quake, it had three lanes for traffic and one set aside for slower vehicles.

Snyder said other bottlenecks could occur on a section of the Golden State Freeway on the Grapevine near Lebec, where crews are widening the roadway. Also, Sierra Highway, which was also damaged in the quake, still has only one northbound lane.

Work also continues on the Simi Valley Freeway, which now has three lanes running in both directions--the same number as before the quake.

Things could be a lot worse, Snyder said.

“Considering everything that’s happened, we’re in pretty good shape, but because this is the first big getaway weekend, we’re going to be keeping an eye out,” he said.

Burbank Airport is also expecting heavy weekend traffic, particularly today and Monday evening.

“We expect to be very, very busy,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “Everybody will be doing the Friday fade. It will start out slow, but by noon will be hectic and won’t stop until 7 or 8 p.m.”

To avoid hassles, Gill advised travelers to purchase tickets over the phone and to park in the airport’s garage for arriving flights instead of waiting in cars in front of terminals. He also said parking will probably be at a premium.

“We’ve placed more signs up to try to get the traffic flowing better, but the best idea might be to have someone drop you off at the airport because parking is going to be really tough,” Gill said.

For those not venturing too far afield, the sixth annual Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at Sherman Way and Owensmouth Avenue. Last year, 35,000 people showed up for the parade, which will proceed east on Sherman Way, south on De Soto Avenue, west on Vanowen Street and end at Vanowen Street and Owensmouth Avenue. This year’s highlights include 1880s gunslingers, a dune buggy contest, Peruvian horses and John Wayne and Wyatt Earp look-alikes.

The parade will offer traditional fare as well, including drill teams, marching bands and politicians ranging from Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick to state Controller Gray Davis to Rep. Anthony Bielenson (D-Woodland Hills).

More solemn ceremonies honoring veterans will be held in Glendale and North Hollywood on Monday. In North Hollywood, an hourlong ceremony and parade will take place at 10 a.m. at Valhalla Memorial Park, 10621 Victory Blvd. In Glendale, a wreath will be placed at the city’s war memorial during a morning remembrance.

At Castaic Lake, park officials expect 15,000 people and 700 boats to descend on the man-made lake over the weekend, which along with Independence Day is the area’s busiest period of the year.

“We opened up 40 campsites this year, and I don’t expect them to last very long at all,” said Brian Roney, a regional park superintendent. “I advise people to call ahead.”

Even golf courses will be no refuge from crowds.

“Monday is going to be one of the worst days of the year,” said Tim Stains, a manager at Hansen Dam Golf Course in Pacoima, where hundreds are expected to jam the greens over the weekend.

And while the West Valley California Highway Patrol station, which patrols from Universal City to the Ventura County line, plans no checkpoints over the weekend, a CHP spokesman said officers will nonetheless be on the lookout for drunk drivers--a traditional Memorial Day weekend problem.

“If the weather’s hot, there’s probably going to be a lot more drinking going on,” CHP Sgt. Kent Kilgore said.

Kilgore said canyon roads used by Valley residents as shortcuts to the beach will be crowded, and possibly dangerous, if the weather heats up and people flock to beaches. Those streets include Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Kanan Dume Road and Malibu Canyon Road.

“People should watch their speed and expect delays if they’re going that way,” Kilgore said. “There’s a lot of sharp turns and it could be very dangerous for people not used to taking them.”