405 RELIEF NOW IN SIGHT ARNOLD EXPECTED TO SIGN BILL TODAY.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign legislation today to jump-start construction of a 405 car-pool lane and preserve $130 million in federal funds that could have been lost if work was not started in time.

After months of hard-fought efforts by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Fernando Valley leaders, Schwarzenegger is planning to come to Los Angeles to sign the bill that some had worried would get held up in Sacramento politics, lawmakers said.

Fresh from his bold new proposal to reconstruct California's sagging infrastructure, Schwarzenegger moved quickly once the bill landed on his desk this week - seizing the opportunity to fast-track the 10-mile lane that promises great traffic relief between the Valley and the Westside.

``I just couldn't see him not signing it. Anyone who lives in the area - and we do have a governor who lives right near the 405 - knows what a huge issue traffic is,'' said Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, who co-authored the bill and plans to be at the noon signing ceremony in West Los Angeles.

``You can't represent our area and not understand how important that is.''

Signing the bill paves the way for a dramatically accelerated construction schedule, building commuters a car-pool lane up to six years sooner than originally planned. Work is now expected to be substantially under way by 2009 instead of 2015.

The fate of the 405 car-pool project has been uncertain for the past six months.

Schwarzenegger initially had been cool to the project last summer when Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, needed the governor's backing to secure the $130 million in the federal highway bill.

Only after mounting public pressure did Schwarzenegger throw his support behind the project, enabling Berman to successfully secure the funds. The governor had been focused instead on funding a freight-rail project.

The governor has since earmarked $350 million toward the $500 million project as part of his transportation-bond proposal this year.

But the $130 million in federal funds could be lost if the project isn't under way by a federal 2009 deadline, and Caltrans said it needed state legislation that would allow a fast-track construction method known as ``design-build'' to meet the timetable.

But the state's engineering union opposed the bill, which foundered in the Assembly last fall. It was only after intense efforts by Villaraigosa and other local leaders that it was passed the day before the Assembly recessed until the new year.

But minutes later, the Senate then shut down - recessing a day earlier than planned - leaving the project stalled for four months until the Senate resumed last week and passed it Monday as the first bill of the new year.

However, some had previously questioned whether Schwarzenegger would even sign the bill since he had been pressing for broader authority to use the design-build method to fast-track projects statewide.

Berman, who was flying into Los Angeles and hoping to attend today's signing, was thrilled about the governor's planned action.

``He's very excited the bill will be signed. This is what he's been pushing so hard for,'' said Berman's district director, Bob Blumenfield. ``It's been a very long haul. But obviously it's all worth it if we can do something to help ease the traffic in the Valley.''

``This is an incredible day for Los Angeles and I think particularly for the San Fernando Valley,'' said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who joined Villaraigosa for the push in Sacramento.

``The governor's quick action gives people some confidence that the Legislature gets it. The governor gets it.''

Villaraigosa was thrilled with the news, said his spokesman, Darryl Ryan.

``This is real victory for the commuters of Los Angeles.''

Officials of the engineers union, the Professional Engineers in California Government that had initially opposed the legislation, said earlier this week that the final bill had improvements that softened their protest.

The legislation also turns the project over to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has used design-build on other projects.

``Lots of credit to the mayor, the governor for signing it, the Legislature for passing it,'' said former Assemblyman Richard Katz, one of Villaraigosa's appointees to the MTA board. ``Now it's going to be up to us at the MTA to deliver it.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com