Caltrans: Any Which Way but the Freeway

While I certainly do not condone the hurling of insults or missiles at Caltrans workers, I too am frustrated by the actions of what seems to be the most thoughtlessly run bureaucracy in the state, a bureaucracy that apparently schedules its work without the slightest regard to traffic patterns and time of day (“The Freeway Firing Line,” Jan. 29).

Caltrans workers are usually right there in the thick of it, squeezing off traffic lanes during peak hours. Even when Caltrans does show the sense to perform its work at night, it thumbs its nose at safety. Its workers aim their high-intensity work lights without regard for the eyes of oncoming drivers.

Worse yet, when Caltrans closes exits and interchanges, its thoughtless foremen rarely place signs alerting the motorist to that fact until just past the exit to an available alternate route. It’s no wonder drivers become irate.

Michael Lawler

Los Angeles

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As a retiree, I was a messenger for three years and racked up some 280,000 miles on Southern California roadways. During that time it became crystal-clear to me that Caltrans was definitely not part of the solution to the congestion problems but rather the No. 2 cause (No. 1 being the big rigs).

If the policy at Caltrans was to promote the expeditious flow of traffic consistent with safety, would it always be starting more projects at the same time than it can reasonably handle, resulting in semipermanent gridlocks? Or would it constantly be performing routine maintenance at peak periods, as it does?

David J. McGill

Sun City

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Drivers are justified in their anger about mounting congestion, but lashing out at Caltrans workers is not the solution. Instead of directing their anger toward Caltrans they should be directing it toward the politicians who have squandered billions of dollars in public transit projects that carry only 2% of the trips and let the freeway system (which carries the other 98%) deteriorate and go uncompleted.

Caltrans devised a plan in the late ‘50s that accurately predicted the growth of Southern California and provided sufficient road capacity. Unfortunately, politicians, who thought they knew better than you, me and even the engineers and planners, halted construction and stole highway money for other uses, hoping to stop growth and force us out of our cars. It did not work; more people moved here, and now we are in a position where even a minor ramp closure wreaks havoc. Caltrans employees should be commended for the great job they do, considering the restraints they work under.

Christopher Hughes

Santa Ana