BUSY ROADWAY—A view of the 101 and 23 freeways during Tuesday rush hour. The City Council agreed last week to loan $20 million to the state to help jump-start a long-sought-after plan to expand the interchange, which handles about 260,000 vehicles a day. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers The Thousand Oaks City Council wants something done about the 101 and 23 freeways—and it’s putting up the money to prove it.

The City Council last week took action on two separate projects aimed at alleviating congestion on the two busy roadways, the most critical being the widening of the 101/23 interchange.

To jump-start the long-awaited construction, the council agreed to loan the state $20 million from the city’s general fund reserves toward the estimated $40-million cost of adding lanes to the freeway interchange. The state is expected to repay the money by 2016.

Councilmember Dennis Gillette said the city could no longer wait for the state to move forward on what’s being designated “the No. 1 transportation project in the county.”

BOTTLENECK—A $15.7-million plan to expand the Wendy Drive overpass will go to bid this month. Work is expected to begin in January. The project will add lanes to the bridge and to the ramps. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers “The health benefits and movement benefits and other benefits are significant; (it will contribute) to the quality of life in the community,” Gillette said.

Darren Kettle, director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, said the interchange is an east-west linchpin for commerce, tourism and access to the county’s two military bases. Some 260,000 vehicles pass through the interchange per day.

“You’ve got major industrial and job centers—major elements of our economic engine in this county—(and) the way to get to them is through that interchange,” Kettle said. “Anybody going . . . east to west generally is going to go through that interchange. So it has a huge regional impact . . . very much in Ventura County but I think even beyond . . . into west Los Angeles County as well.”

Even with the council’s approval of the loan, work can’t begin until the state agrees to the arrangement and until Thousand Oaks learns whether it has qualified for a $20-million federal grant to cover the remainder of the cost.

Jay Spurgin, interim director of public works, said he should know by the end of the year if the city will be awarded the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, money.

“I think we have good odds— better than even,” said Spurgin, adding that the award agency looks favorably on projects with substantial financial backing from local entities.

Not without risk

By agreeing to loan the state $20 million interest-free, the city stands to lose some $250,000— based on current investment terms—in interest for every year the loan is outstanding, Finance Director John Adams told the council.

As evidenced by a unanimous vote, the council agreed it was a price they were willing to pay to get construction started.

“It’s worth it,” Gillette said. “The sooner we could get that done, the better our entire community will be.”

Mayor Pro Tem Jacqui Irwin said city staff will try to work out an arrangement that delays use of city money until absolutely needed, thereby minimizing the loss of interest as much as possible.

Irwin noted that federal and state funding is difficult to obtain but even more so for Ventura County, which does not have a transportation sales tax.

“I think a lot of the federal money is going to go to counties that are willing to put some of their own money into it, and we’re not really one of those self-help counties,” Irwin said. “I think the problem’s going to get worse and . . . I think we really owe it to our residents to try and get this done sooner as opposed to later, because we just don’t know how much later it will be and we think this is a very important project.”

Others on the council expressed concern over the possibility the state won’t repay the $20 million to the city.

Claudia Bill-de la Peña asked if the state funding source is secure.

“I’m asking these questions because I am a little nervous considering what has happened with redevelopment agencies—that was money cities counted on and all of a sudden the rug is being pulled out from under every city in California,” she said.

Spurgin said T.O. won’t go through with the loan if the state doesn’t agree to the arrangement.

“We have every reason to believe that that will be approved,” Spurgin said, adding that the funding source is from state gasoline sales tax revenue. “We have about as secure a source of funding as we can get from the state.”

The interchange expansion will add a travel lane in each direction for drivers connecting to the 101 Freeway from the 23 Freeway.

Off-ramps and interchange lanes will be restriped to two lanes and sound walls will be built on the north side of the freeway between Hampshire and Conejo School roads and on the south side between Manzanita Lane and Hampshire Road.

For several years, city leaders have sought to secure government dollars to widen the 101/23 freeway interchange and relieve chronic traffic congestion, even after the 23 Freeway was expanded in 2008.

Five T.O. officials traveled to Washington, D.C., in March to lobby legislators for federal support.

Spurgin said an advantage to widening the interchange sooner with a city loan is that Thousand Oaks may have a better idea of construction costs next year rather than in 2016, the earliest that state money would be available.

If the plan moves ahead, construction could begin as soon as January 2013 and the work completed in December 2014.

Wendy Drive bridge

The second project approved by the council on Sept. 27 is the reconstruction of the Wendy Drive bridge in Newbury Park.

The $15.7-million expansion, which is expected to improve traffic flow and safety for those getting on and off the 101 Freeway, will be put out to bid this month.

The project will add a vehicle lane in both directions and a northbound bicycling lane to the bridge. It will also increase riding space for southbound cyclists and widen the northbound freeway on-ramp and southbound offramp to two lanes.

New home construction in Newbury Park before the recession hit has contributed to rush hour traffic jams on the bridge and freeway ramps, according to city staff.

Plans for the Wendy overpass also include decorative railings, lighting and concrete fascia on the bridge for aesthetics.

The expansion is being funded by $11.3 million in federal grants, $1.4 million in gas tax funds and $3 million from developer fees. The city has collected about $600,000 in developer fees so far.

To make up for the slowdown in development, the council will loan about $1.5 million to the project and be repaid as residential, commercial or other developments come in, Spurgin said.

Construction of a Lowe’s home improvement store and other new businesses are expected to bring in $700,000 toward the project this year, the public works director added.

A construction contract could be awarded in December with work beginning in January. The expansion will require surface street and freeway detours on several occasions during the 18-month project.

The city will notify residents of when and where the detours will occur through its website, social networking websites, email, traditional mail, TOTV, newspapers and door-to-door visits.