FUNDING SOUGHT FOR I-5 CAR-POOL PROJECT.

Byline: - Rick Orlov

Mayor James Hahn urged Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday to find money to build car-pool lanes along the Golden State Freeway to ease traffic congestion through the San Fernando Valley.

Hahn said he was very disappointed when the state Transportation Commission rejected a request last week from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to speed up funding for the $193 million project.

``This extension would have alleviated traffic congestion in the area, increased travel speeds and reduced commuting times,'' Hahn said. ``It has been a priority project for both the MTA and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.''

The state panel rejected the request to accelerate funding and construction of the five-year project to build a car-pool lane in both directions, between the 134 and 170 freeways.

Funding already is available to build the lanes in both directions between the 170 and the Antelope Valley freeways.

Local officials want all segments of the Golden State Freeway car-pool lanes - from Santa Clarita to Glendale - built at one time, rather than in consecutive phases, to minimize inconvenience to motorists and make the lanes available sooner to reduce congestion.

``This corridor in the San Fernando Valley is one of the most heavily congested and traveled routes in the region,'' Hahn said.

The mayor urged the governor to request the commission to either reconsider its decision or find alternate sources of funding.

A spokesman for the governor said the letter had not been received, but would be reviewed.

The project would be modeled after the recently completed car-pool lane on the southbound San Diego Freeway, which has proved popular among motorists and has helped speed traffic.

The San Fernando Valley Transportation Strike Force, a coalition of business and civic leaders promoting faster work on highway and transit improvements, had urged planners to seek the advance funding for the $193 million needed for car-pool lanes along the Golden State Freeway between the 170 and 134 freeways.

The Transportation Strike Force and the MTA said if the funding is not accelerated, the final section would not be completed until at least 2012.

Partial funding would make the new lanes largely ineffective and would lead to years of work-zone traffic delays, local officials say.

The state Transportation Commission staff report's author, CTC Executive Director Diane Eidam, has said the recommendation stemmed from the MTA not placing the project on its main list of priorities and from competition for surplus transportation funding.