CONTRACTORS, CITIES TO LEND STATE MONEY DEAL WOULD FINISH LOCAL PROJECTS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

With the state budget stalemate threatening to shut down some transportation projects Monday, contractors and local governments stepped in Friday with last-minute plans to lend $100 million to keep most work on track.

At stake are 200,000 private-sector jobs and hundreds of construction and maintenance projects - including soundwalls along the Ventura Freeway through the San Fernando Valley where residents have waited decades for noise relief.

However, 75 projects have been suspended or delayed, and it was unclear Friday whether Valley-area projects would be jeopardized.

Tarzana residents worry that the state's $38 billion budget crisis will halt work on the half-completed soundwall in their neighborhood.

``We are just, at this moment, finally we were seeing little inklings they were starting on our part,'' said Beth Nelson, president of the Melody Acres Neighborhood Association.

Tarzana Neighborhood Council President Leonard Shaffer said the soundwall has been sought for decades.

``It's near and dear to the hearts of lots of people,'' he said, adding that residents also don't want to prolong the construction zone on the freeway.

State Department of Transportation Director Jeff Morales said residents should continue to worry.

``This is not a deal that can last, frankly,'' he said. ``All it does is let us get to next week and figure out where we are.

``The real issue is getting the budget done,'' he said. ``(Contractors and local government) have come together to bail out the state for the Legislature's failure to do its job and pass the budget.''

Caltrans had previously notified companies that, without a state budget, it could not guarantee timely payment for work done after Sunday. The state estimated that 200 of the 650 projects were at risk of shutting down.

Contractors scrambled this week to address the fast-changing circumstances and figure out if they could keep their crews working.

``It obviously has us all on pins and needles,'' Dick Vogels, vice president of Irvine-based Peterson Chase Engineering Construction, said earlier in the week.

With 100 employees and subcontractors, the company is doing $10 million of Caltrans work, including putting a concrete divider down the Ventura Freeway from downtown Los Angeles to the Hollywood Bowl and a soundwall along the Ventura near Woodman Avenue.

The company building the connector ramp at the 101-405 Freeway interchange said earlier Friday that it expected to complete its job.

Also, The Newhall Land and Farming Company said it would lend the state $3.6 million to continue work on two I-5 interchange projects in Santa Clarita.

And MTA officials said they expected to lend the state $27 million to keep Los Angeles County projects going, and would ask the board to approve the financing plan at their meeting Thursday.

Shutting down the work would have cost the state millions in penalties paid to contractors and restart costs.

``This is a temporary reprieve,'' Gov. Gray Davis said in a statement. ``I call upon the Legislature to act immediately to pass the budget.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com