CALABASAS' TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE TO END.Byline: Susan Goldsmith Daily News Staff Writer Residents in the sleepy community of Calabasas have had to endure hair-pulling traffic jams as construction crews built a new interchange over the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. at Valley Circle Boulevard. Now, after 2 -1/2 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time locals will celebrate the end to the traffic nightmare Thursday when the $15 million Valley Circle Boulevard/Mulholland Drive interchange is officially opened. ``This project seemed to take forever and then some,'' said Bobby Bell For the former English professional footballer, see Bobby Bell (English footballer). Robert Lee Bell, Jr (born June 17, 1940) is a former collegiate and professional American football linebacker/defensive end. , manager of the Sagebrush sagebrush, name for several species of Artemisia, deciduous shrubs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), particularly abundant in arid regions of W North America. The common sagebrush (A. Cantina can·ti·na n. Southwestern U.S. A bar that serves liquor. [Spanish, canteen, from Italian, wine cellar.] in Old Town Calabasas. ``It has been a total headache, and people here have been very frustrated by this. . . . I just hope everything gets back in order quickly.'' Officials with the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. say the new bridge, with its five lanes, can accommodate 40 percent more traffic than the old interchange, which had only three lanes and accommodated 195,000 cars daily. The reconstructed bridge also features two bicycle pathways and an equestrian trail. The new bridge, portions of which were opened in November, links Valley Circle Boulevard in Woodland Hills with Mulholland Drive For the motion picture, see . Mulholland Drive is a very well-known road in Los Angeles, California named after engineer William Mulholland. A portion of it is also called Mulholland Highway. in Calabasas. The last leg of the project, the eastbound ramp onto the freeway from Calabasas Road, will open Thursday. ``Construction was delayed (six months) by a series of unforeseen utility relocations,'' said Patricia Reid, a Caltrans spokeswoman. ``This was a very complex project because traffic could not be stopped.'' The $236,000 equestrian path, which is part of the historic De Anza Trail, was funded with a grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. As part of the interchange project, eight historic oak trees, some 500 years old, were relocated so they could be preserved, she said. An official interchange dedication ceremony is scheduled at 10 a.m. at Calabasas Creek Park near the construction site at the juncture of Calabasas Road and Valley Circle Boulevard. Charles Cate, Calabasas city manager, said the entire city will be celebrating the reopening Thursday. ``This project has been a real inconvenience for our citizens and for the Old Town businesses,'' Cate said. ``However, it's clear the improvements will make a tremendous difference in the ability to move traffic.'' For Gail Celone, a Calabasas resident, the completion of the project is cause for celebration. ``I'm thrilled it's finally done,'' she said. ``I just don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. why there's an equestrian trail there. Doesn't traffic spook horses?'' |
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