118 SLOPES NEED HELP UNDERPASS EROSION ANGERS CITY.

Byline: Angie Valencia Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - City officials tired of seeing erosion and debris at some of the city's main freeway underpasses are calling on the state for help in covering the dirt slopes.

The slopes have remained unfinished along the Ronald Reagan Freeway, while Caltrans, the state transportation agency, focused on other improvement projects in the area.

``They have made some strides,'' said Councilwoman Barbra Williamson. ``The thing that I have a problem with is when Caltrans comes in and works and tries to make (the underpass) look presentable ... they don't give us the same kind of decor of other cities like Thousand Oaks.''

Williamson said she has complained for 12 years about the unfinished underpasses.

``It's better than it was, but it's still downright ugly,'' she said. ``If they're going to cement it, they need to come up with something more original than just a big slab of concrete.''

Mayor Bill Davis said the underpasses in town have drawn citizen complaints for years. Caltrans officials, he said, do not keep them clean and they should either ``landscape or cement the whole thing.''

Ron Fuchiwaki, Simi Valley's assistant public works director, said that during heavy rains, dirt and debris flow onto the sidewalks. And the city frequently is left handling the cleanup.

A couple of years ago, Caltrans completed the underpasses on Erringer Road and Sycamore Street, bypassing all others.

Deborah Harris, a Caltrans spokeswoman, said the slope-paving project on the Ronald Reagan Freeway include underpasses from Kuehner Drive to First Street. The estimated cost is $500,000, but the project has yet to be funded.

``It's there,'' she said. ``It's been identified, but there is no money to construct at this point.''

Reza Fateh, a Caltrans resident engineer, said the agency conducts work as funds become available and that Caltrans doesn't automatically pave the underpasses where there is a bridge.

``If we have erosion, ... where (paving or landscaping) would eliminate a problem, then we would do it,'' he said.

Allen Powers, who lives near the Galena Avenue underpass, said he has complained to city officials and Caltrans.

``Galena Avenue is one complete mess,'' he said. ``There's terrible water erosion and they have not taken care of it. For almost 30 years Caltrans hasn't done any cleanup.''

Davis said it is a question of priorities. ``Do they want to spend the money fixing underneath the bridges or fixing the freeways where the cars are?''

The city has worked closely with Caltrans, showing state officials the areas in need of repair, Davis said.

City Councilman Glen Becerra said the city has done its fair share and that the city has been working with the federal government and Caltrans to get help landscaping all the underpasses.

``This stuff is actually happening,'' Becerra said. ``More can be done, but there are also limited resources.''

Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, was not available for comment.

Angie Valencia, [phone]

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com