It
is disappointing indeed that CalTrans will need seven
years to complete improvements to the 101/405
interchange. This interchange was built on the
cheap in 1956 and desperately needs to be upgraded to
handle today’s traffic. As is, traffic
spills off the 101 and 405 freeways and onto surface
streets to make the transition, instead of using the
gridlocked interchange. This causes the local
roads to congest, which in turn makes it very
difficult for residents to access city amenities near
the interchange. If these much-needed
improvements are not completed quickly, the
communities around the interchange will continue to
suffer.
Efforts
are currently underway to improve the 101/405
interchange, but they are hampered by bureaucratic
red tape that slows CalTrans down and prevents them
from doing their job. For example, the new lane
under construction on the northbound 405 between
Mulholland Drive and Ventura Boulevard has been
funded since 1999. This lane could have been
completed in 2000, but CalTrans was required to do
extensive studies and environmental impact reports to
see if the narrow strip of land between the freeway
and the abutting rock face was environmentally
sensitive. It is obvious to any driver stuck in
traffic that the twelve-foot strip of land next to
the 405 is not habitat land or wetlands, but
regulations require that lengthy studies of the land
be done anyway. The result is that this needed
freeway improvement has been delayed by several years.
Improvements
have also been hampered by the MTA’s refusal to
dedicate any significant amount of funding to this
interchange. The projects that are currently
funded are a step in the right direction, but only
drops in the bucket compared to what is needed.
The existing interchange has tight loop ramps that
force drivers to slow down to 25 miles per hour,
creating frictional slowing that causes long lines of
cars to form as drivers wait to make the transition
from the westbound 101 to the southbound 405. Two
of the interchange’s transition ramps deposit
drivers from the 405 onto the left side of the 101, a
dangerous configuration. The interchange worked
well in 1956, but not today. It needs to be
rebuilt and modernized, but government agencies are
not cooperating with each other, and red tape is
hampering any sincere efforts to improve the
interchange.
It
does not have to take seven years to build a freeway
interchange. After the 1994 Northridge
earthquake, the Golden State/Antelope Valley Freeway
interchange (5/14) was rebuilt in a few months.
The collapsed segment of the Santa Monica Freeway
took only 66 days to rebuild, and that required the
replacement of an entire viaduct! Why did these
projects happen so quickly? The answer is
simple: Then-Governor Pete Wilson declared a
state of emergency, which allowed CalTrans and
private engineering firms to get to work immediately,
to get the freeways up and running again. In
the absence of red tape, extreme environmental
regulations, and other bureaucratic hurdles,
construction agencies can do their jobs quickly and
effectively.
The
best solution to this bureaucratic mess is Senator
Tom McClintock’s bill, SB 171. This bill
would give the governor the ability to declare a
state of emergency when severe traffic congestion
renders roads and highways impassable. Like the
5/14 interchange after the Northridge earthquake, the
101/405 interchange is in a state of emergency--gridlock
emergency. It has been rendered essentially
impassable by decades of neglect. SB 171 would
allow the governor to cut red tape and get the
interchange upgraded quickly, so CalTrans and private
engineering firms can get to work and traffic can
begin to move again.
Mike
Pratt
Director, Friends of Southern California’s
Highways
