5, 405 FREEWAY PROJECTS BOOSTED.

Byline: SUE DOYLE

Staff Writer

Lobbying efforts to use state bond money to widen the 5 Freeway and add a car-pool lane on the 405 Freeway got a boost Monday when the staff for a powerful state panel backed the plans and dropped its support for other Los Angeles County road projects.

The California Transportation Commission will vote Wednesday on the staff recommendations. Just last week, the staff had called for diverting most of the bond money coveted for the two highway improvements to other projects, including the 10 Freeway through the San Gabriel Valley.

Gloria Molina, a county supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Authority board chairwoman, called Monday's recommendations a mixed bag for the region.

"Just as commuters on the 405 and 5 freeways endure significant traffic congestion each day, the 10 Freeway creates unbearable traffic congestion and pollution for many of the very voters who voted for Proposition 1B," said Molina in a written statement.

The commission's staff report on Monday suggested using about $1.1 billion -- nearly a quarter of the $4.5 billion in bond money for the entire state -- on the two freeway projects.

Under Proposition 1B -- a $19.9 billion transportation bond that voters approved in 2006 -- $4.5 billion was specifically set aside for congestion relief.

Under the plans, the 5 Freeway would be widened from six to 10 lanes from the Orange County border to the 605 Freeway, and the car-pool lane would be added to the northbound 405 Freeway for 10 miles between the 10 and 101 freeways.

If the latest staff recommendations are approved by the commission Wednesday, plans are in jeopardy for adding car-pool lanes to stretches of the north and south Golden State Freeway, between Route 134 and 170, and to stretches of the 10 east. So are some other county plans.

Molina and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were in a delegation of county and city officials that lobbied last week before the commission in Sacramento during a public hearing after the staff's earlier funding recommendation.

The staff proposed just $327 million for the region, far short of the $1.8 billion that MTA officials had sought.

Officials also argued that the region, home to nearly 30 percent of the state's residents, did not receive its fair share of the voter-approved money.

John Barna, executive director of the commission, said Monday's decisions came at the expense of other projects in the region.

"If we had some more money in the south, we wouldn't have had to make a tough call with subtracting it," Barna said.

Last week, Villaraigosa and other city officials urged residents to call the commission and demand their share of money that they voted for with Proposition 1B.

That's all it took for North Hills residents Jan and Bob Renner to pick up the phone.

Tired of living with freeway gridlock, the couple told the commission staff that they were counting on the money to free up the jammed up roadways, in particular the 405 Freeway.

"We have so much traffic that we need all the lanes we can possibly get in order to relieve us," said Bob Renner.

The clogged-up 405 Freeway weighs heavily on the mind of Woodland Hills' Marge Sheahan, who also called the commission last week after reading of staff recommendations. She said the additional car-pool lane for the 405 was touted during the bond election, which was why she voted for the measure.

"That's why we vote for these bond issues," Sheahan said. "We're always hopeful that we'll see some results."

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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