KNOX PUSHES TO FAST-TRACK FREEWAY INTERCHANGE WORK.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

Sorely needed traffic improvements at the 101-405 freeway interchange could finish months or even years ahead of schedule if the project is chosen under a new law designed to speed construction, Assemblyman Wally Knox said Tuesday.

Knox is seeking assurances from the head of Caltrans that the 101-405 interchange will be selected, particularly because it's his law that allows the accelerated work on six pilot projects.

Gov. Gray Davis signed AB 405 in September, and on Tuesday Knox officially asked Caltrans Director Jose Medina to tap the 101-405 project as one of those six.

``If we keep the pressure on, we could break ground in the year 2000, shave six months to a year'' off the job, and finish the work by the end of the year, said Knox, D-Los Angeles.

``Jose Medina has the call,'' Knox said. ``And he should know there's a high degree of public involvement and concern on the issue.''

Twelve Caltrans districts around the state also will apply to have their projects chosen for the pilot program, said Doug Failing, division chief for design of District 7, which includes Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The 101-405 work is atop the District 7 wish list, however, and support from Knox and Davis will only help its case, he said.

``There are a lot of things in this project that would lead to it being one of the pilot projects being selected,'' Failing said. ``I would think people in the Valley certainly should be hopeful it would be.''

Medina will make a decision after all applications are in, by the beginning of February, he said.

A Daily News series in 1997 identified the 101-405 interchange as ground zero for the San Fernando Valley's traffic congestion.

Already $7.9 million is in place for two projects to help ease gridlock at the junction - the seventh-worst bottleneck in the nation, according to a recent study.

One job - the one Knox is asking to fast-track - would add an auxiliary lane to the northbound 405 Freeway from Mulholland Drive to the Ventura Boulevard off-ramp at Greenleaf Street. The other project would add a second connector lane from the northbound 405 to the eastbound 101 Freeway.

Both are set to be complete by late 2002. Construction of the connector lane would not be affected if the auxiliary lane project is hastened, Failing said.

He said the key to the pilot program is having a project in which there's enough work for a contractor to make meaningful progress while the rest of the design is being completed. And he said aspects of the auxiliary-lane job are simple and flexible enough to fit the bill.

``We did it during the earthquake here,'' Failing said. ``It's a very good tool. It takes the right kind of project to do it.''