BOULEVARD SCHEDULED FOR RENOVATION.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale Boulevard will be getting an $11 million facelift that will include the addition of two new traffic lanes, providing relief for motorists along the city's main thoroughfare.

The state Department of Transportation is in the design phase of the project, which is expected to begin in late summer or early fall. Completion should take about two years, according to Caltrans officials.

``It'll bring more capacity,'' said Mayor Jim Ledford. ``It's heavily congested now.''

As a general rule of thumb, arterial boulevards can handle about 9,000 cars per lane per day, traffic experts say. Using that guideline, four-lane Palmdale Boulevard should be able to handle about 36,000 cars a day.

Parts of Palmdale Boulevard are nearing capacity. Just west of Sierra Highway, the boulevard has handled 35,500 cars a day, according to a 1998 traffic count by Caltrans.

The work planned for Palmdale Boulevard is actually two projects combined. The first involves restriping of the boulevard, from four lanes to six, between the Antelope Valley Freeway and 30th Street East. The new lanes will be accommodated by using the shoulders of the boulevard and modifying medians.

The second part of the project involves making improvements between 30th Street East and 57th Street East. The work will include rehabilitating the pavement and improving drainage.

The work will eliminate on-street curbside parking between Third and Fifth streets east and between Sierra Highway and 10th Street East. Earlier this year, Palmdale staff did a parking survey that determined there was adequate parking in the area to offset the loss of the street parking.

Still, the loss of on-street parking might be an issue for some businesses, Ledford said.

``There are no concrete plans to add more parking. We may have to deal with the businesses on a case-by-case basis to review their options,'' Ledford said. ``That's the only hitch I see in the program. We've got to help them.''

Caltrans will be putting together a flier that will be mailed out to inform Palmdale residents near the project area of the work. Caltrans also will send notifications to elected officials in Palmdale and Lancaster and to the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce, said Caltrans spokeswoman Pat Reid.

Palmdale Boulevard is part of State Route 138, an east-west link between the Antelope Valley and San Bernardino County.

Antelope Valley officials are working on creating a second east-west route that would run along Avenue P-8, providing further relief for Palmdale Boulevard. Caltrans is in the process of studying the best options for that bypass.