California Highway News: 4/16 – 5/1

[cahwyguy]

Well, while everyone else is dancing around the Maypole, I’m toiling in the news mines collecting the news related to California Highways for the latter half of April:

• Topanga Canyon Boulevard May Become A State Scenic Highway. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said [on 4/17/13] that it will ask the state to designate a portion of Topanga Canyon Boulevard a state scenic highway. “Thousands and thousands of visitors to Topanga State Park and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area enjoy access via Topanga Canyon Boulevard to the wild lands and beaches of this stunningly beautiful corner of our state,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who recommended the designation.
• Metro committee approves I-5 toll lanes in SCV. A plan to build two new Interstate 5 carpool lanes using tolls to help with construction costs took a step toward reality Wednesday with a vote of a Metro committee. Members of the Planning and Programming Committee for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted unanimously to approve the concept and file the environmental impact report for the project, according to Chris Margaronis, the project’s manager.
• Westlake Village sculptor’s next big project will span Highway 101. A major upgrade to the Lindero Canyon Road bridge across Highway 101 in Westlake Village is expected to get under way early this summer and will feature signature artwork across its span.
• Beverly Hills Freeway: This Day in Transit History. De Leuw, Cather & Company present to the City of Beverly Hills their final report on geometric design, alignment analysis and cost estimates for a proposed Beverly Hills Freeway. They conclude that a “fully depressed and concealed” freeway following a Santa Monica Boulevard right-of-way is both practical and feasible.
• CalTrans: ‘Need’ more shoulder for rails along Kern Canyon roadway (Route 178). Currently there are guardrails installed sporadically along Highway 178 in the canyon, but 23ABC asked CalTrans why not have more guardrails installed all throughout the canyon.
• Caltrans building interchange at Route 99/Route 113. An accident-prone stretch of road will start receiving improvements next week as construction begins on Highway 99 at Highway 113, the location of at least one vehicle-related death and several injuries since 2010. Caltrans will be building an overpass as part of a new interchange in hopes of improving traffic flow and safety conditions, officials said. A groundbreaking ceremony is April 26, when the $19.4 million project gets underway.
• 405 project stuck in the slow lane. Plagued by cost overruns and delays, the widening will take at least a year longer than first anticipated. Pencil in June 2014, when officials aim to complete the bulk of the construction.

[Alas, you may see a little less news... online sources are increasingly going to paywalls. Recent convertees include the San Francisco Chronicle, the Ventura County Star, and the Orange Country Register. The LA Times also has a paywall, but I subscribe to the times. Further, articles from the Media News papers (among them, the Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, and Los Angeles Daily News and the Daily Breeze) expire and are unavailable after a month or two. This really hurts collections of articles. As always, contributions are welcome.]

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