By J. Douglas Stevens
Staff Writer
On most days in Southern California, the 101 freeway, running from Ventura County to the City of Los Angeles, looks more like a parking lot than it does a freeway. The endless waits drivers must endure has put the 101 at the forefront of recent discussions on how the city can solve its problem of traffic congestion.
Now the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is suggesting a double-deck addition to the problem-plagued passageway.
This upper tier could feasibly hold additional regular lanes, carpool lanes, or an elevated busway, all of which would alleviate the stop-and-go nightmare of rush hour traffic.
At first glance, this plan is appealing — more room, less congestion. But when confronted with costs and other expenditures, the facts show this isn’t the solution L.A. drivers are looking for.
Much of the opposition comes after the culmination of a year-long $4.5 million study, which was supposedly much more thorough and conclusive than the 27 studies that preceded it.
Caltrans conducted its first study in 1981, focusing on the 40-mile stretch of 101 that runs through the San Fernando Valley from downtown Los Angeles to the Ventura County line. It was estimated that an upper deck running from Universal City to Calabasas would cost taxpayers $910 million, and may result in the destruction of more than 1,000 homes and businesses, not to mention the years of delays we would have to face while the project was constructed.
And despite all of this, the biggest reason for not wanting to add a second level to the 101 may be something more obvious, considering Southern California’s recent history of natural disasters.
Who can forget the Northridge earthquake in 1994 that devastated apartment buildings, parking structures, and caused a section of Interstate 10 to collapse? The images of cars and people crushed beneath the fallen weight of that interstate were some of the most memorable to come from the tragic event. But has Caltrans forgotten so soon?
Some California residents still cannot shake the images of the double-decked Nimitz Freeway in Oakland and the two-tiered Bay Bridge collapsing during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. If we can learn anything from these disasters, it’s that multi-tiered highways and earthquakes don’t mix, and many experts think “The Big One” is yet to come.
There are other working examples of double-decked freeways already in commission that support the majority opinion against the addition.
The 110 freeway, for instance, has elevated carpool lanes and a busway. While the carpool lanes are a success, the low number of passengers actually utilizing the busway is discouraging, but this is no surprise. Is there any reason to believe that regular 101 drivers would give up their position behind the wheel to ride an elevated bus. Have you been on a bus in L.A.?
A better option may be a quieter, smoother and generally more appealing rail line.
In the early 1990s, a plan was proposed to build an elevated rail line, but skeptical commuters shot it down. Now L.A. has one of the least efficient systems of public transportation in the country and the highways are suffering from constant congestion.
Suppose Caltrans does get the go ahead on this project to double-deck the 101.
By the time the 83-foot wide second level is complete, population will have increased, and the new lanes may be just enough to satisfy the number of cars on the road. Most concerned drivers suggest that more lanes are not the answer, and I would have to agree.
The answer is reducing the number of cars on the road. As a Southern California native, I know the frustration of sitting on the “101 parking lot” for over an hour just to make a 15 or 20 mile journey.
Pepperdine students should keep this issue in mind as they search for housing next fall. There is talk of utilizing a certain apartment complex in Woodland Hills to supplement on-campus housing, which is scarce these days.
If this housing plan becomes a reality, students will have to travel that congested stretch of the 101 daily. And unless some type of plausible solution is found, getting to Convo on time could become quite the adventure.
April 04, 2002