Work Starts on Traffic Center

State transportation officials announced Monday the start of construction of a $46-million transportation management center that they hope will help them better monitor and manage traffic in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The center will replace a much smaller operation at Caltrans headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. In addition, the center, to be completed by 2004, will hold the California Highway Patrol’s emergency dispatch facility, now near Hollywood.

The 89,000-square-foot center on West Broadway in Eagle Rock will be the state’s largest transportation management center, according to California Department of Transportation officials. Construction is being funded primarily by gasoline tax revenue.

From the center, state transportation officials and Highway Patrol officers will be able to monitor freeway traffic via closed-circuit cameras, pavement sensors and 911 calls. In response to emergencies, technicians at the center will be able to dispatch tow trucks or CHP officers. To improve traffic flow, center technicians will be able to adjust ramp meters and send traffic advisory messages via radio transmitters or changeable message signs.

“People can’t work if they can’t get to work,” said Doug Failing, Caltrans director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Many transportation experts agree that California cannot keep up with the state’s growing transportation demands by building more freeway miles, especially with a projected $21-billion-plus state budget shortfall next year. Instead, they said, the most efficient way to ease Southern California’s freeway congestion is to manage traffic better on freeways with remote-controlled cameras, road sensors and tow trucks on patrol to quickly clear away accidents.

Caltrans is building a $171-million headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, but Failing said the new transportation management center was not included in the headquarters building plan because it does not meet the more stringent seismic standards needed for the center. The transportation management center in Eagle Rock is designed to withstand a severe earthquake and continue operating on its own power supply.

Inside the Caltrans transportation management center, technicians monitor brightly colored screens and computer terminals, from which they can control 350 closed-circuit cameras, 100 changeable message signs and 850 ramp meters. Caltrans officials hope that the center eventually will be connected to 450 closed-circuit cameras, 150 changeable message signs and nearly 1,200 ramp meters.

“We will be able to put in more tools and more gadgets,” said Osama Assaad, a Caltrans senior transportation engineer.