CALTRANS PUSHES FOR 2 BRIDGES; ENGINEERS SEE SAFETY ISSUE.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer Citing traffic hazards and the need for another route when 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. is closed, state transportation officials are urging the Coastal Commission to allow replacement of two bridges For the neighborhood in New York City, see . Two Bridges is an isolated location in the heart of Dartmoor National Park, in Devon, United Kingdom. It is situated around 2. on Highway 150 over Rincon Creek. Caltrans officials want the commission to overturn its decision last August that upheld a Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club appeal halting replacement of the 71-year-old steel bridges. ``We have classified this as a safety project,'' Caltrans spokeswoman Danielle Lloyd said. The bridges, 16-1/2 and 18 feet wide, are approved for two lanes of traffic, but in reality are only wide enough for one vehicle to pass at a time, officials say. The bridges are a quarter-mile apart at the west end of Ventura County, about a mile in from the Ventura Freeway. Drivers approaching the bridges must use extreme caution to ensure no traffic is traveling in the opposite direction, officials said. ``It's difficult to see whether a vehicle is coming in the other direction,'' said David Beard, Caltrans project engineer. Crashes in that area occur at twice the normal rate for a rural, two-lane highway, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Lloyd. Plans call for two 32-foot-wide bridges, each with two lanes and four-foot shoulders on both sides of the road. Highway officials also want to raise the height of the bridges by three to four feet to prevent flooding from the creek when it overflows during the rainy season. About three-fifths mile of road would have to be regraded in the project. The Sierra Club opposes the $3.2 million project, arguing that it would disrupt surrounding wetlands and destroy oak trees believed to be 300 to 500 years old. Furthermore, members of the environmental organization believe that most of the traffic problems are the fault of the drivers. ``If people are traveling at legal speeds, they won't have any problems,'' said Rick Skillin, chairman of the organization's Los Padres
Not to be confused with San Diego Padres. chapter in Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. . Merle merle a pattern of coat color pigmentation with dark, irregular blotches on a lighter background. Seen in some Collies and Welsh corgis. In shorthaired dogs, e.g. Great Danes and Dachshunds, the similar pattern is called dapple. Betz, an analyst for the Coastal Commission, said his office will recommend the full board not grant Caltrans its permit. Highway 150 runs from Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County into Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. in Ventura County. It served as a vital access road amid two disasters in this decade that temporarily closed portions of the Ventura Freeway. In July 1991, a Southern Pacific Transportation Co. freight train derailed in Seacliff, a coastal community, spilling more than 440 gallons hazardous materials it was carrying. An eight-mile stretch of the freeway was closed for several days, and residents of 49 homes were evacuated. The same section was closed in March 1995 after a massive mudslide from the Ventura hills slammed into La Conchita, another coastal community, crushing nine homes and forcing about 100 residents to evacuate. Caltrans needs the coastal development permit because the project area is in the state's coastal zone where land-use plans and zoning ordinances are approved by the commission. Beard said construction could begin in the summer of 1999 and be completed a year later if his office is awarded the permit by this fall. The project would be funded with state and federal money. |
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