VARIOUS LOCATIONS—Gov. Schwarzenegger has announced the allocation of $730 million of Prop 1B funding to build a northbound carpool lane on I-405, according to a press release by the Governor’s Office issued on September 25. The new lane will be built on a 10-mile stretch from Interstate 10 to Highway 101. The cost of the plan is estimated at about $779 million dollars and will take approximately four years to complete. Construction is set to begin in Spring 2009 and end in Summer 2013.

 “When California voters approved Proposition 1B they wanted action, and we are delivering that action,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “This funding will not only help relieve the traffic congestion that clogs our Los Angeles freeways—it will create jobs and help stimulate California’s economy when we need it the most.”

 Since the passage of Prop 1B in 2006, which provides funding for transportation projects across California, it had been unclear whether the project would ever be initiated. One hurdle came in February 2007 when the California Transportation Committee (CTC) announced that it would not allocate funds for the project. The CTC reversed that decision about two weeks later and recommended funding for the plan after an outcry on the part of local legislators and lobbying by Mayor Villaraigosa.

 Caltrans considered various alternatives before deciding on the project known as Alternative 2, which will focus principally on the northbound side by adding the new lane and widening the mixed-car lanes from 11 to 12 feet to meet federal standards. The plan will require the displacement of seven residences. Alt. 2 is a pared down alternative to a more ambitious plan known as Alternative 3, which would have required the displacement of 37 residences, and would have widened the mixed-lanes on the southbound side.

 The plan was put up for public review and comment from May 22, 2007 to March 14, 2008. During the comment period there were requests to delay the project on the part of Westwood Hills Property Owners Association and some individual residents. These requests were based on various considerations; the most noteworthy was the danger of a landslide re-occurring on the slope area just east of Sepulveda Blvd. Caltrans responded by saying that they implement “stringent engineering standards that address the stability of the hillsides” and overruled their requests in its Record of Decision published in April 2008. That document can be found at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/travel/projects/move405/docs/i405_ROD.pdf.

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