Southern California -- this just in

Worst freeways in Southern California? Planners have a fix-it list

September 22, 2009 | 7:52
am

There is little debate that Southern California's freeways are in need of help.

But one transportation group has put together a list of which freeways need the most TLC. The freeway projects were included in a list of 21 "must-do" transportation projects at the Eighth Annual Southern California Transportation Summit in downtown Los Angeles.

The event was hosted by the organization Mobility 21 and drew dozens of elected officials, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and business leaders from Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside counties. Among the projects on the "IMBY" list -- which stands for "In My Back Yard" -- are six aimed directly at reducing congestion.

Villaraigosa said:The goal is to reduce congestion on one of Southern California's most heavily traveled freeways and improve a vital north/south link between Orange County and Los Angeles."

Interstate 215: "Planned improvements to this heavily-traveled Inland Empire corridor include adding a general purpose lane in each direction on I-215 in Murrieta and fixing the worst bottleneck in San Bernardino County, the Devore Interchange, where the I-15 and I-215 meet. Complementing the highway improvements will be the Perris Valley Line extension of Metrolink services in Riverside County."

Interstate 5: "Adds carpool lanes south from I-605 to the Orange County line and north from SR-134 to SR-170."

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Photo: Drivers stuck in traffic along the 10 Freeway can see the 215 Freeway interchange and layers of connector roads behind them in Riverside.