House Approves $41 Million for Roads in County

Long-awaited highway improvement plans for Thousand Oaks and the Port of Hueneme moved forward late Wednesday, as the House of Representatives approved a massive national highway bill that includes nearly $41 million for road construction in Ventura County.

The bill earmarks $14 million to add two lanes to the Moorpark Freeway between Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, as well as more than $2.5 million to erect sound walls along the thoroughfare.

In the west county, $22.4 million would pay for road extensions south of Oxnard to improve cargo flow at the fast-growing Port of Hueneme.

“This project has been on the book for eight years, and it’s the type of project we have to keep pushing to stay competitive with other ports in the U.S.,” said Kam Quarles, marketing director for the Oxnard Harbor District. “We’ve continued to push, and it’s terrific it’s starting to bear fruit.”

Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) supported the measure, saying it would boost the county economy and help ease traffic jams for east county commuters.

“We have three or four times more activity at the port than we had previously,” Gallegly said. “We need the access.”

But Gallegly and Sherman cautioned that the bill still faces Senate approval and could be trimmed. The Senate vote is expected in about a month, Sherman said.

The Port of Hueneme road project has been planned for about a decade, officials said. The federal money approved Wednesday would be used as part of a project that would link Rice Avenue and Hueneme Road, making it much easier for trucks to move to and from the port, as well as Point Mugu and Port Hueneme Navy bases, planners said.

In addition, road improvements would make Rice Avenue, rather than Oxnard Boulevard, the main thoroughfare between the Ventura Freeway and the Pacific Coast Highway. State and federal officials have set aside about $30 million for construction, which is expected to begin in 2000, city officials said.

In Thousand Oaks, officials say the $14 million in federal money is badly needed to reduce traffic congestion on the Moorpark Freeway.

“Thousand Oaks has created a job center, and because of that a lot of people are going across the 23 [freeway] in the morning and evening,” county Supervisor Frank Schillo said. The road widening project is expected to cost more than $20 million, and local officials are lobbying state officials to pay for the balance, Schillo said.

The federal bill also includes funding for numerous smaller projects in the county. Among them:

* $907,000 to improve streets and related bicycle lanes in Oak Park and Ventura.

* $761,000 to construct bike paths in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.

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