County to Conduct Truck Traffic Survey

With the aim of easing congestion on Port Hueneme and Oxnard streets, the county plans to conduct a study to determine the number of trucks driving through those and other cities on a daily basis.

On Friday, the Ventura County Transportation Commission will name Wilbur Smith Associates to do the survey, at a cost of about $105,000. It will ask truckers leaving the port what they are carrying and where they are going. The survey will also assess the percentage of the truck traffic on California 118, Pleasant Valley Road and Rice Avenue coming from Port Hueneme.

The Port of Hueneme is the only deep-water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which means it receives deep-draft vessels carrying manufactured goods such as cars and agricultural products such as bananas.

“There aren’t very many places that can take that kind of shipping,” said Chris Stevens, county transportation commission deputy director. Consequently, the number of trucks on these streets has increased significantly since the last study, done in 1988, he said.

“Given the growth in port activity, this is a good time to update and make sure we have the best available information on trucks,” Stevens said.

The data, which should be available in about six months, will help the commission establish truck corridors to make traffic more efficient and minimize the trucks’ effect on city streets.