Problems on Century Freeway Puzzle State

Drainage problems along the Century Freeway have become so severe barely 2 1/2 years after it was opened that the state is planning to spend nearly $9 million to figure out what went wrong and fix the problem.

Caltrans officials said Tuesday that they have not determined whether any of the contractors involved in building the $2-billion-plus freeway--the most expensive in the nation’s history--are at fault.

But Doug Failing, chief of project development in Los Angeles for the California Department of Transportation, said, “We’re concerned because we did not expect this to happen.”

Caltrans officials believe that the problem, apparently confined to the shoulder along a two-mile stretch on the north side of the roadway between the Long Beach and 605 freeways, is caused by ground water seeping into drainage pipes, which could cause the ground to sink.

So far, motorists have not been endangered, Failing said. Engineers do not believe that there is any structural damage or greater threat to the freeway’s stability in the event of an earthquake.

“There’s been no flooding of the freeway,” Failing said. The freeway was closed last week for one night while crews conducted ground penetration testing to determine the extent of the damage.

It is the second time in less than a year that portions of the freeway have been closed. In June, Caltrans shut down a portion of the freeway--also known as Interstate 105--because of problems with the drainage system.

Caltrans maintenance crews spotted a drainage problem again this month when they noticed a depression in a dirt area next to the shoulder.

“We haven’t determined what’s causing the damage,” Failing said. “We need to investigate what’s going wrong.”

The westbound onramp from Bellflower Boulevard--the same ramp closed in June after it had sunk--and the westbound offramp to Paramount Boulevard--have been closed for a month and are expected to be shut for another month.

“When that happened, we thought we had one little isolated location,” Failing said, referring to last year’s problem. “Now, all of a sudden we’re starting to see similar problems.”

Caltrans officials have hired contractors to conduct tests along the shoulder on the 3 1/2-mile stretch between the Long Beach and San Gabriel River freeways.

Crews also are digging up the shoulder to replace some of the pipes, which are 4 to 4 1/2 feet in diameter. Caltrans also plans to inject a soil-stabilizing substance and conduct further tests, including inserting a camera into the pipe, to determine the extent of damage.

As a preventive measure, Caltrans plans to line the inside of the pipes. “You don’t even know this is going on underneath you,” Failing said of motorists.

Officials speculated that the problems were caused by ground conditions that were not known at the time of construction.

Observed Assembly Democratic Leader Richard Katz (D-Sylmar): “It’s inconceivable to me that a freeway this new can be in this bad a shape.”