REBUILDING WATCH : Road Warriors

The interchange between the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways at the northernmost city limit of Los Angeles was a sweeping, 12-story feat of engineering. As such, it was hardly surprising that photographs of its collapsed sections are among the most enduring images of the Jan. 17 earthquake.

This was where Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer Clarence Wayne Dean plunged to his death. Later, the interchange was the cause of the worst commuting nightmares stemming from the quake, including one detour (eight hours for a round trip) that gained international attention.

The reopening of the interchange’s most important segments, set for the close of rush hour on Friday morning, is another reassuring sign of our recovery. Southbound Antelope Valley Freeway travelers (I-14) will again be able to switch to the southbound Golden State (I-5). Those headed north along the I-5 will be able to connect to the northbound I-14.

This comes as a welcome bit of transportation news in the midst of what can only be considered a deluge of lousy developments. It was just last week, for example, that state transportation officials announced that 1,364 more highway overpasses will need to be retrofitted to withstand a major earthquake. More than 300 of those are in Los Angeles County.

For the moment, however, it’s time to applaud the work done to reopen the area’s third quake-damaged freeway artery--it, too, ahead of schedule. At the very least, it’s one less thing for Southern Californians to fret over.