23 Freeway widening project continues to make progress
By Sylvie Belmond  belmond@theacorn.com

The concrete walls on the 23 Freeway between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks are coming down, exposing a welcome open path of highway. But the new roadway isn't yet ready for drivers.

The lanes have been paved and the bridges are complete. Workers are now installing a V-ditch for drainage and metal beam barriers.

They're also doing additional grading in the center of the road and working on several other projects, said Dave White, spokesperson for Caltrans, the agency in charge of the project.

Security Paving Co. of Sun Valley is doing the work at a cost of $59.5 million, paid for with state and federal transportation funds.

"The project is a little ahead of schedule, but that doesn't mean the freeway lanes will open any sooner than expected," said Darren Kettle, executive director for the Ventura County Transportation Commission. The target opening date is still summer 2009.

"What people see being done is about half of the work," Kettle said. Many times, Caltrans starts working on the inside lanes and then moves on to other projects, closing lanes on the outside of the freeway to make improvements there, he said.

The newly appointed Kettle served as director of freeway construction for a sister agency of the Ventura County Transportation Commission in San Bernardino County until he relocated last month.

Kettle recently oversaw the completion of the Foothill Freeway missing link for the 210 Freeway in Fontana, Rialto and the city of San Bernardino.

"Caltrans and Security Paving have done a great job on the contract," said Moorpark City Council member and local transportation commission representative Keith Millhouse.

118 Freeway expansion

Work on the 118 Freeway between Santa Susana Pass and Tapo Canyon Road is also underway. The California Department of Transportation is building sound walls and adding a new lane to the eastbound freeway, but work on the westbound portion has been delayed due to cost increases.

The project was downsized because funding originally slated for both lanes now covers the cost of building only one lane, Kettle said.

The transportation commission will stay uptodate on requirements for the westbound portion to ensure the project is ready to go when the money becomes available, he said.

Kettle said recent estimates show that Ventura County will receive about $30-million worth of transportation funds from the state in three to four years.

It may cover costs for the westbound lane of the 118, but not much else, he said.

Freeway connectors

Highway connectors linking the 101 to the 23 Freeway and the 23 to the 118 Freeway will not be expanded until new funding sources are found.

Caltrans may consider restriping lanes where feasible to ease traffic flow, but these plans are not yet certain, White said.

Funding sources to widen the 101 Freeway and other highways in Ventura County have not yet been identified, said Kettle. Most of these improvements can take place only if county residents are willing to pay an extra sales tax dedicated to transportation, he said. Otherwise, it may take decades before any other major road projects come to fruition.

"All the planning in the world is wonderful, but it can't be accomplished without funds," Kettle said.

Voters will have to decide if they want to pay to improve roads or live with the consequences, he said.

Better commutes can only be achieved if voters make it happen at the polls, where a measure would require a two-thirds majority to pass, he said.

Measure B, which proposed to increase the county sales tax by a half-percent to maintain local streets, reduce traffic congestion, widen and improve safety on local highways and expand public transportation services was defeated at the polls in 2004.

The transportation commission may propose a new sales tax measure for the 2010 ballot if the board of supervisors approves. "It takes a lot of time to develop consensus on something like this. If it is rushed, you hurt your chances of being successful," said Kettle.

Since there aren't many funding options available, counties need to use local revenues as leverage to obtain state and federal funds.

"All the other counties in Southern California have a local sales tax measure for transportation, except (Ventura and) Kern County," Kettle said. Locally, an extra tax could generate $50 million to $60 million per year for transportation improvements.