Work to Start on Last Leg of Foothill Freeway

Groundbreaking for the long-awaited last leg of the Foothills Freeway extension linking San Dimas to San Bernardino is scheduled for this morning.

The $48-million project is expected to be ready for use by 2002. Caltrans Director Jeff Morales said the connection should provide relief for drivers who have negotiated congested city streets for years.

When finished, the 22-mile link will wind from San Dimas through LaVerne, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana. A final phase of the work, connecting the freeway to I-215 in San Bernardino, won’t be finished until 2005.

The corridor will consist of four lanes, with one for carpools, in each direction.

The effort to close the Foothill Freeway’s gap has been in the works for five decades. In the 1960s, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties drafted agreements on the freeway.

The project, however, ran into a number of hurdles over the years. In 1974, California’s freeway program was cut back because of limited funds, postponing the project.

Eventually, Caltrans was directed to review the need for the route. Studies by the agency concluded that the region needed another east-west freeway. Officials estimated that without it, traffic on adjacent freeways would increase up to 80% by 2010.

A financial plan was developed in the late 1980s and environmental studies were approved in 1996.

Total cost of the project, including the right of way construction, is $1 billion, funded by local, state and federal gas and transportation taxes. Los Angeles County’s share is estimated at $310 million.