101-405 AMONG WORST IN NATION; STUDY PUTS L.A. ATOP LIST OF BOTTLENECKS.

Byline: Deb Riechmann Associated Press 

Los Angeles and the nation's capital share the dubious honor of each having four of the top 18 traffic bottlenecks in the nation, according to a survey sponsored by highway interests being released today.

The American Highway Users Alliance found the Interstate 405 freeway at the Interstate 10 interchange in West Los Angeles was the nation's worst bottleneck. And seventh on the list was the U.S. 101 Ventura Freeway at the 405 interchange in the San Fernando Valley.

Drivers in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Conejo Valley areas have been struggling with the chronic traffic jams on the 101 and 405 freeways for decades, as trips to work, Los Angeles International Airport and the region's entertainment centers turn into traffic nightmares.

Starting in 1997, a series of articles in the Daily News identified the 101-405 exchange as the primary obstacle to smooth driving across the Valley. California transportation officials have since developed plans for a widened 101-405 connector.

Besides identifying bottlenecks in nine metropolitan areas, the study by the American Highway Users Alliance suggested that fixing the most serious congested areas nationwide would save lives, reduce pollution and shorten delays.

It called for spending more money on synchronized traffic lights, computerized systems to route traffic around congested areas and using reversible commuter lanes and moveable barriers during peak travel times. But in some instances, more capacity must be built into overstressed highways, the study said.

``Freeing these bottlenecks is a critical starting point for curing the gridlock on our roadways,'' said William Fay, president of the alliance, a Washington-based advocacy group that represents motorists, truckers, insurance companies, oil refiners and other highway-related interests.

Besides Los Angeles and Washington, the report identified three bottlenecks in Atlanta, two in Houston and one each in Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Albuquerque, N.M.

The study estimated that improving 167 bottlenecks nationwide would, during the next 20 years, prevent 287,200 crashes, reduce smog-causing emissions and cut delays by an average of 19 minutes a trip - nearly 40 minutes a day for commuters who must negotiate a bottleneck to and from work.

Steve Hayes, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association, said the study focuses attention on expanding the capacity of America's road system.

WORST BOTTLENECKS

The nation's top 18 highway bottlenecks, according to the American Highway Users Alliance. (Proposed improvements in parenthesis):

1. Los Angeles, Interstate 405 at I-10.

2. Houston, U.S. 59 at I-610.

3. Seattle, I-5 at I-90.

4. Boston, I-93 Central Artery downtown at U.S. 1 known as the ``Big Dig.'' (``An $11.6 billion federal highway project, called the ``Big Dig,'' is under way to put the main north-south highway passing through Boston underground.)

5. Washington, D.C./Maryland, I-495 at I-270.

6. Washington, D.C./Virginia, I-95 at I-495 and I-395 known as the ``Mixing Bowl.'' (A $350 million, eight-year reconstruction project is under way.)

7. Los Angeles, U.S. 101 Ventura Freeway at I-405.

8. Los Angeles, State Route 55 Newport Freeway at State Route 22.

9. Los Angeles, I-10 Santa Monica Freeway at I-5.

10. Albuquerque, I-40 at I-25. (State highway officials are in the bidding process of a $250 million project to rebuild the intersection and nearly 5 miles of freeway approaching the interchange.)

11. Atlanta, I-285 at I-85 in De Kalb County. (State officials are considering a $170 million plan that would re-engineer interchanges between three major interstates to keep trucks from overturning; truckers also would be asked to voluntarily stay off the area's busiest stretches of road during rush hours.)

12. Atlanta, I-75 at I-85.

13. Chicago, I-290 at the junction of I-88 and I-294 called the ``Hillside Strangler.'' (Illinois Gov. George Ryan has proposed spending $82.1 million for construction of auxiliary lanes, interchange reconstruction, bridge widening, utility adjustments and engineering. Construction is scheduled to begin next spring; open to traffic by 2002.)

14. Denver, I-25 at I-225.

15. Houston, I-610 at I-10.

16. Washington, D.C./Virginia, I-66 at I-495.

17. Washington, D.C./Maryland, I-95 and I-495 at the U.S. 1 to I-95 North junction.

18. Atlanta, I-285 at I-75.

- Associated Press

The Daily News contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: The worst (see text)