CALTRANS SPARES DRIVERS EXTRA SNARL; WORK NEAR EDWARDS RESET FOR OFF-COMMUTE HOURS.

Byline: Karen Thacker Special to the Daily News

Commuting Edwards Air Force Base workers already feeling the strain of a detour since the closure three weeks ago of the south base entrance have been spared a further traffic tie-up.

Caltrans officials said they have rescheduled for Saturday and noncommuting hours repaving work for the Rosamond Boulevard off-ramp leading to the base's west gate.

``We worked with folks out at EAFB because we understood they had an entrance already closed,'' said Tim Shultz, a Caltrans construction engineer for eastern Kern County.

Of the base's estimated 9,000 commuters, about 60 percent come from Los Angeles County, entering through the south gate off 120th Street East and the west gate off Rosamond Boulevard. About 75 percent arrive by 7 or 7:30 a.m.

The closure of the south gate for repaving five to eight miles of 120th Street East - called Lancaster Boulevard on the base - has already lengthened commuting time for workers who normally use that entrance.

Claire Govers, a store separation analyst, said taking the Antelope Valley Freeway from her east Lancaster home adds at least 10 minutes to her drive. When she took Sierra Highway to Rosamond Boulevard, aiming to find a way around the Rosamond Boulevard off-ramp, it added another 10 minutes.

``I don't like traffic backing up and people passing me going 80,'' she noted of the Sierra Highway commute.

Mike Trine, a radar engineer on the B-2, says the south gate closure added 45 minutes each way on his commute from Wrightwood.

``There's not too much traffic, but it's a long way,'' he said. ``That's three to four more hours a day you're away from your family. You're wiped out by Wednesday.''

Caltrans posted warning signs along the Antelope Valley Freeway advising motorists that the Rosamond Boulevard exit would be subject to closure 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays this week.

But Caltrans officials say they have scheduled Saturday for laying new asphalt. The exit will be closed all day Saturday and striping will likely occur another day during off-commute hours, like between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Shultz said.

Caltrans often posts signs warning of a time period during which construction may take place. Detour signs will be posted once work is actually under way, he said.

The south gate entrance will remain shut for another two to three months, said base spokesman John Haire.

Base officials decided their best option was to repave the entire road at one time.

``It's more cost effective to do that road now . . . rather than a half mile, a quarter mile at a time,'' Haire said.

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Photo: (color) A truck negotiates the northbound off-ramp to Rosamond Boulevard from the Antelope Valley Freeway on Wednesday.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News