CANYON ROUTE WILL SHRINK DRIVING TIME : ROADWAY TO OPEN MAY 5.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

Fifteen years in the making, a 1-mile-long road linking Saugus and Canyon Country is expected to open May 5, diverting thousands of cars off other city streets.

The $7 million Plum Canyon and Whites Canyon extension was financed by the Shapell-Monteverde Partnership, which is building the nearby Cottage Glen housing tract.

``It'll help tremendously. The county's estimating that 10,000 cars a day will be taking this road,'' said Frank Faye of Shapell-Monteverde. Commuters should be able to shave 10 to 15 minutes off their morning and evening treks on the two-lane road, he said.

The Plum Canyon Community will eventually have 3,203 single-family homes, a commercial area, a school, two parks and a fire station. So far, 150 of the 298 homes in the first phase have been built, and the school should be complete by fall 1998.

Faye said that Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich approached Nathan Shapell, the president of Shapell Industries, in 1984 about the need for extending the road from Plum Canyon to Whites Canyon roads.

In a handshake agreement, Shapell agreed to build the road. In 1989, that pact was formalized in the first development agreement Los Angeles County entered into, Faye said.

Faye said that even though the economy took a dive and the homes have not been built as fast as expected, Shapell still built the road. ``His view is, a deal's a deal,'' Faye said.

The project, which lies in the unincorporated area of the county, will still be charged about $3,400 per housing unit to fund other road local improvements, Faye said.

The agreement calls for the road to be widened to four lanes as development progresses.

``Two lanes is not going to do it,'' said Jo Anne Darcy, the field representative to Antonovich. ``They need to do it right away before they build another tract.''

Faye said the pace of development will depend on market conditions. ``The quicker the better,'' he said.

The road has faced several delays, including a landslide above the road in November 1994. City and county officials said the hilly nature of the Santa Clarita Valley leaves the area prone to landslides. Following the 1994 incident, the hill was shored up with new dirt and construction continued.

Joyce Rodgers, whose Monteverde Development Company is located at the base of Plum Canyon Road, said the route will be a wonderful addition to the area. Residents should be able to get to Canyon Country in five minutes, she said, missing the wait on Bouquet Canyon Road. ``There's that morning congestion that should be alleviated,'' she said.