Westbound at Santa Susana Pass : State OKs Truck Lane on Simi Freeway

The California Transportation Commission has approved a two-mile truck lane to ease congestion on a steep portion of the westbound Simi Valley Freeway between Chatsworth and Simi Valley, officials said Thursday.

The commission, which met in Sacramento on Wednesday, also voted to spend $4.7 million to resurface the San Diego Freeway from just north of the Ventura Freeway to 1.4 miles north of the Simi Valley Freeway interchange. A portion of the funds will go toward strengthening the San Diego Freeway bridge over the Los Angeles River in Van Nuys, said Thomas Knox, state Department of Transportation spokesman.

Construction on both projects is expected to begin in September and should be completed by spring, Knox said.

The $1.4-million truck lane, from Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth to Rocky Peak Fire Road east of Simi Valley, will allow cars to pass trucks moving slowly up a steep grade in the Santa Susana Pass, Caltrans officials said.

Lanes to Be Restriped

The lane will be carved out of three existing traffic lanes, which will be restriped to make room for a fourth lane, Knox said. The far left lane will be moved several feet closer to the median divider, he said, and all four lanes will remain the standard 12 feet in width.

The truck lane will start on the westbound freeway on-ramp from Topanga Canyon Boulevard, where cars frequently are backed up behind trucks, officials said. Trucks should be moving fast enough to safely merge with car traffic by the time they get to the end of the truck lane at the top of the grade, Knox said. Cars will be able to bypass trucks in a separate on-ramp lane, Knox said.

“Trucks really can in many ways impede the flow of traffic,” Knox said. “The lane gives them an opportunity to safely merge into traffic.”

In addition to the state funds, the project is being paid for by a $200,000 grant from the city of Simi Valley and $10,000 from the city of Moorpark, officials said.