KEY SHORTCUT TO REOPEN PLANS CHANGE FOR BOUQUET CANYON ROAD.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Antelope Valley commuters can resume driving Bouquet Canyon Road this week as a shortcut to the Santa Clarita Valley.

Public works officials said they plan to reopen the storm-damaged two- lane road to through traffic at 6 p.m. Thursday while repairs continue for several months.

County officials noted, however, that reopening the road Thursday evening depends on weather today and Wednesday to complete necessary paving and lane-striping work. The closed section right now is between Spunky Canyon Road, near the town of Green Valley, and Vasquez Canyon Road.

``It's really good news for the community,'' True Pawluk, spokeswoman for the county Department of Public Works, said of the reopening plans.

At least one lane of the road will be open around the clock at the urging of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Pawluk said.

With repair work continuing along the road, motorists could encounter flagmen directing traffic at times, she added.

Public works officials dropped their earlier plan to keep the road open only during mornings and evenings for commuters.

While Bouquet Canyon Road is reopening, county officials say neighboring San Francisquito Canyon Road south of Green Valley will likely stay closed for two months longer than expected: until Dec. 31.

County engineers need more time to design a new bridge that will take the road out of a marshy section of San Francisquito Creek and run it along a hillside on the creek's western bank, Pawluk said.

The new alignment will be less likely to get washed out in a flood, though it will still be vulnerable to landslides, Pawluk said. She said landslides are less troublesome.

``It's not hard to clear roads. It's hard to rebuild roads,'' she said.

The new bridge will be built about 4 1/2 miles north of Saugus, just north of San Francisquito Powerhouse No. 2. The new alignment will run north about 1 1/2 miles, rejoining the old alignment near Dry Gulch Road.

Both San Francisquito Canyon and Bouquet Canyon roads have been closed since a torrential Jan. 9-10 storm, when the creeks they parallel washed out long sections of pavement.

Of the dozens of roads closed by the Jan. 9-10 storm and a second deluge Feb. 19-21 that added to the washouts and mud, 17 roads remain closed. All except three are due to reopen by the end of April, which for some is months sooner than expected, county officials said.

Most of the remaining closures are in the eastern part of the valley, where dozens of two-lane roads lack bridges across the normally dry Little Rock and Big Rock washes.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com

REOPENINGS SCHEDULED

Closed Antelope Valley roads and their expected dates for opening to through traffic.

110th Street East from Avenue J to I: April 20

110th Street East from Avenue K to L: April 20

130th Street West from Avenue A to B: July 1

140th Street East from Palmdale Boulevard to Avenue Q: April 20

145th Street East from Avenue O to Q: April 10

150th Street East from Palmdale Boulevard to Avenue R: April 10

150th Street East from Palmdale Boulevard to Avenue Q-3: April 10

150th Street East from Avenue M to M-12: April 10

50th Street East from Avenue E to D: April 20

Arrastre Canyon Road south of Crown Valley Road: Nov. 9

Avenue B from 110th to 130th Street West: July 1

Avenue Q from 130th to 145th Street East: April 30

Avenue R from 150th to 165th Street East: April 11

Avenue S from Longview Road to 165th Street East: April 14

Avenue T from Longview Road to 165th Street East: Thursday

Bouquet Canyon Road: Thursday

San Francisquito Canyon Road: Dec. 31

Source: Los Angeles County Department of Public Works 

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) A car drives through flooding on Bouquet Canyon Road, now closed near the town of Green Valley but set to reopen.

(2 -- color) A county Department of Public Works crew fortifies a berm on Bouquet Canyon Road to prevent renewed flooding. A section of the road is closed near Green Valley.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News

Box:

REOPENING SCHEDULED (see text)