SAN GABRIEL VALLEY : Assembly OKs Bill to Clear Way for Freeway Extension

The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would allow Caltrans to build the long-delayed extension of the Long Beach Freeway through South Pasadena without that city’s permission. South Pasadena officials have long opposed the freeway, saying it would tear the city in half and destroy historic homes.

The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Diane Martinez (D-Rosemead), revitalizes a 1982 law that allowed construction without South Pasadena’s approval. Last year, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled that the 1982 law was void because its time limits had lapsed. The new bill removes those limits.

South Pasadena is one of four cities on the proposed 6.2-mile extension. Pasadena, Alhambra and Los Angeles have given permission, but South Pasadena has long opposed the freeway. Construction has been stalled by that city since 1965.

“Obviously, it’s discouraging. but it’s not the end of the world,” said Amedee O. Richards Jr., South Pasadena’s mayor. Richards pledged to lobby the Senate, which has not acted on the bill. Meanwhile, state and federal officials must still approve the project and its funding.