CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON OVERPASS EXPANSION.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Work is under way on a $5.6 million project to widen the Avenue L overpass and ease the frequent backup of vehicles trying to exit the Antelope Valley Freeway.

MCM Construction, a Sacramento-based highway construction company, is expanding the existing two-lane overpass to six lanes. The project, which involves adding a second bridge on the north side of the existing overpass, is expected to be completed in December 2001.

``We're trying to keep pace with the transportation needs,'' said Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts. ``This is going to be a fabulous interchange. It'll make traffic flow smoother and make the freeway less congested.''

The project includes widening Avenue L between 10th Street West and 15th Street West and adding traffic signals and street lights. Workers must haul in 24,000 cubic meters of dirt, the equivalent of filling 560 backyard swimming pools.

The existing overpass, built in 1970, has turned into a traffic bottleneck. The northbound off-ramp to Avenue L is frequently backed up during the evening rush hour, with motorists trying to turn left.

Motorists were given some relief when the city restriped the lanes to provide a turning pocket so cars could cross the eastbound lane, then wait for the westbound traffic to clear.

The overpass is one of two major overpass projects the city of Lancaster has in the works. The second project, in the planning stages, is to widen the Avenue H overpass from two lanes to six.

That project will also involve widening the off-ramps from one to two lanes each. That project is projected to cost $7.7 million.

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Work begins on a project to add four more lanes to the overpass at Avenue L in Lancaster. The project includes widening the avenue between 10th Street West and 15th Street West and adding traffic signals and street lights.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer