INTERSECTION UPGRADE SET.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

For years, the residents who live and commute around the intersection of East Kelly and Newbury roads have mucked through the mud flows and miniature lake that forms with each rainstorm, overflowing sidewalks and flooding parked cars.

During peak traffic hours, they have plodded through the regular late-afternoon traffic that backs up as the hundreds of students who drive in and out of Conejo Valley Continuation High School mingle with other commuters in a slow crawl toward the stop sign.

``In the afternoons, there is almost always a lot of traffic and noise because the cars get backed up,'' said Andra Zambrano, whose family has lived on Kelly Road for eight years. ``When it rains, it gets flooded. They've even closed down the road a couple of times because it got too flooded and the road started to corrode.''

One of the oldest intersections in the Conejo Valley, Kelly-Newbury is slated to get an $800,000 face lift this summer that many say is long overdue.

``Basically, it's been neglected for many years,'' said Jerry Jensen, the city's senior civil engineer overseeing the four-month project that will install a new drainage system to help keep the intersection cleaner and drier, replace the three-way stop sign with a three-way street light, and repave the bumpy road with a fresh coat of asphalt.

Part of the Old Ventura Highway, Kelly Road for years grew more congested with traffic and more frequently flooded during heavy rainstorms. This past El Nino season, rainwater collecting at the intersection flowed over the curbs and into parked cars left on the street.

``It's an intersection badly in need of repair,'' said Tony Lindsey, director of the Conejo Valley Unified School District's maintenance and operation office located behind Conejo Valley Continuation High School on Kelly Road. ``The city does its best to keep it free and clean of debris, but the water just builds up during storms. Every year, it's lined with sandbags.

``We're looking forward to any repairs to this intersection.''

Jensen said the work on the roadway is scheduled to begin in mid-July and last through November. Part of a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program scheduled by the city about three years ago, Jensen said the Kelly Road upgrade will specifically target Newbury Road from 700 feet west of Kelly Road to 700 feet east of Kelly Road. Workers will install traffic signals at the intersection and will construct the first phase of the Kelly Road storm drain.

An information session for local homeowners and businesses as well as the general public is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Civic Arts Plaza Forum Theater. City staffers will discuss the project details, traffic issues and the project construction schedule. Sheriff's Department representatives also will be present to answer questions.

``As with any road construction project, there will be some inconveniences to the local residents. But we will make sure that one lane will remain open in each direction throughout the work phase,'' Jensen said.