Officials to Study Freeway Offramp

Caltrans officials plan to visit Ventura next week to look at the traffic-clogged California Street offramp, which is slated for relocation.

Gov. Gray Davis included the $15-million Ventura Freeway offramp project in a sweeping package of statewide transportation projects earlier this month, the only construction project for Ventura County on the list.

Davis also included a $3-million study of freeway congestion between Thousand Oaks and North Hollywood.

Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) lobbied for the projects and said moving the California Street offramp would improve traffic flow and help tourism in Ventura because it would be easier for visitors to drive from downtown to the beach.

The governor’s $5.2-billion transportation package, which would be paid in part with $2.8 billion in state surplus, hinges on legislative approval and a $2.2-billion voter-approved bond. The bond measure is expected to be on ballots in November.

But Ventura city officials want to be ready in case all goes well and are preparing a report on the offramp for California Department of Transportation officials.

The most feasible solution is extending the offramp to Oak Street and then routing traffic onto Thompson Boulevard, officials said. Drivers could then access the beach by crossing the California Street bridge.

Extending the ramp would require a tunnel under California Street and could possibly take out some parking behind commercial buildings west of California Street.

The project would not begin until 2002 at the earliest.