CALTRANS-CHP CENTER TO BATTLE L.A.'S GRIDLOCK.

Byline: Douglas Haberman Daily News Staff Writer

Promising freeway motorists a smoother commute, Caltrans and California Highway Patrol officials Thursday opened a new traffic management ``war room'' at the transit department's office downtown.

With state-of-the-art technology in the $8.5 million Transportation Management Center and in the field, the two agencies will be better able to spot problems on the freeways and respond rapidly, officials said.

``It's going to save you time,'' said Ed Gomez, chief of the CHP's Southern Division.

Now when there's an obstruction - from a stray dog to a disabled vehicle - on the freeways, ``We identify it quicker and remove it quicker,'' he said.

That helps all drivers stuck behind the incident site, Gomez said, because ``for every minute an obstruction sits on the road it takes four minutes for the (traffic backup) to clear up.''

About half of all congestion on any given day is a result of accidents and other problems, said James van Loben Sels California Department of Transportation director.

``This is a major milestone in our war on congestion,'' he said of the center.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and a number of other federal, state and local transportation officials joined Gomez and van Loben Sels at the event.

Also paying a visit to the center was the creator of the SigAlert system, Loyd Sigmon of Sherman Oaks, who is 89.

``I think it'll help but I don't think it's the answer'' to Los Angeles' congestion, he said. Still, the center has a fine staff, he said. ``Let's give them a chance to prove it.''

Occupying the middle of the new center's main wall is a large electronic map of the freeway system in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. When traffic is flowing smoothly, the freeways appear green. But in spots where congestion is slowing traffic, the color changes to white then to yellow as it worsens and finally to red when there's gridlock. A flashing red light indicates a possible crash.

On either side of the map are six video monitors showing live pictures of freeway traffic sent by 120 closed-circuit television cameras in the field, mostly along the Golden State Freeway. Ultimately, 433 of the cameras are planned for all 1,200 miles of freeways and highways within the next four years, officials said.

Facing the main wall are banks of computers staffed by CHP officers and Caltrans transportation engineers, who can update information. Some is made available to the public via radio and television broadcasts and on the CHP's Web site.

The Caltrans engineers track conditions on the freeways and on-ramps, using cameras and subsurface sensors, and can adjust on-ramp meters to slow the entry of vehicles onto congested freeways.