Below are three recent updates on freeway projects in L.A. County.
Metro/Caltrans Compton 91 Freeway Expansion On Hold
At last week's Metro board Planning Committee, Metro staff announced that one of three Metro/Caltrans 91 Freeway expansion projects has been placed on hold.
Briefly, the other two 91 projects:
- The $100 million North Long Beach Eastbound 91 expansion appears to have been canceled due to community opposition.
- Metro and Caltrans anticipate that their $160+ million Westbound 91 expansion (in the cities of Artesia and Cerritos) will begin construction later this year.
But the third Metro/Caltrans 91 Freeway widening is, for now, on hold. The project is located in the city of Compton, extending from Central Avenue to Acacia Avenue (very near the Metro A Line Artesia Station.)
Caltrans Plans $144M Sepulveda Pass Upgrades
Caltrans recently announced its plans for a four-year $144 million project to upgrade the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass.
Caltrans' "Repave 405" project extends about ten miles - from Victory Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard. This is much of the same area where, less than a decade ago, Metro and Caltrans completed their $1.6 billion 405 Freeway widening project.
Repave 405 does not appear to increase car capacity. It includes resurfacing, and replacing guardrails, signs and culverts.
Caltrans notes that the project is improving pedestrian infrastructure as it includes upgrading ten curb ramps at on- and off-ramps.
To find out more about Repave 405, read the Caltrans announcement and/or attend the Caltrans virtual project meeting this Thursday April 24 at 6 p.m. Register online.
Caltrans Completes Safety Features at 105 Freeway Norwalk Terminus
At last week's Metro board Construction Committee meeting, a Caltrans representative reported [presentation] that the department has completed its $460,000 safety enhancement project at the eastern terminus of the 105 Freeway.
For the past decade-plus, drivers repeatedly overshot the signal at the end of the 105, sped across Studebaker Road, and crashed into buildings, poles, and other stationary objects.
Streetsblog briefly touched on the 105/Studebaker project last year in March and April. The location is just east of the Metro C Line Norwalk Station. It is a place designed so badly that it is common for Metro riders to walk and bike along the freeway between Studebaker Road and the station.
The 105 Freeway there has more people walking than some projects designed to encourage walking.
It is easy to understand why people walk/bike in the freeway margin there. To reach destinations to the south or east of Norwalk Station, taking the freeway shoulder shortcut reduces walk/bike trip lengths by more than two-thirds of a mile. (And much of the avoided route is along bike-walk-unfriendly Imperial Highway, a freeway-like 6+ lane stroad).
Caltrans' recent project didn't address the bike/ped issues there (see below for a future projects that could) but is an attempt to stem the tide of crashing drivers. After multiple crashes damaged the medical building there, the business closed leaving a boarded-up husk.
According to testimony reported by the Norwalk Patriot, the Studebaker/105 intersection saw three crashes each year from 2019 to 2022, and ten crashes in the first half of 2023. LAist reported that a dozen 2023 crashes at the site included two fatalities.
In early 2024, County Supervisor Janice Hahn termed the site a "crash magnet" urging Caltrans to immediately implement safety measures there.
In April 2024 Caltrans began installing new safety features at 105/Studebaker, including more reflective signs, rumble strips, stronger crash barriers, flashing beacons, and more.
At the end of the Caltrans' presentation last week, Metro Boardmember Fernando Dutra inquired, regarding the 105 Freeway improvements, "do you know if they reduced crashes?" Caltrans staff responded "I do not have any safety crash data yet at this time."
Regarding the walk/bike situation there, some improvement is on the way, and expected to be completed ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Metro received a federal Reconnecting Communities grant for various transit, bike and walk facilities. One component of that grant is to create a safe bike/walk connection at the south end of the Norwalk Station park-and-ride lot. The grant will also add protected bike lanes on Hoxie Avenue, the street extending north from the station.
That future southern entrance to the station is greatly needed, and will likely take some pedestrians and cyclists off of the 105 shoulder.
Assuming the federal grant remains intact, in 2028 Metro riders arriving by foot or bike will have two legal ways to access the station - to the north and south. But at this time Metro doesn't appear to have plans to improve access to the east or west.
Metro could perhaps include additional first/last mile connections in its under construction three-phase 105 Freeway widening project? The Norwalk Station area would be in the third phase.
Some local residents may oppose Metro riders walking and biking on their quiet residential streets near the station. On the other hand, some nearby residents would probably welcome convenient walk/bike access to the station. Perhaps Metro could overcome any objections using some of its state-authorized "virtual autonomy in self-governance" to permit and build connections that would help Metro's riders easily and safely access Metro's stations.
