PAINFUL FREEWAY FIX KEY RAMPS WILL BE CLOSED FOR 9 MONTHS, FORCING TRAFFIC TO LOCAL STREETS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

SHERMAN OAKS - Both the Ventura Boulevard and Greenleaf Avenue on-ramps to the northbound San Diego Freeway will be closed for nine months while Caltrans upgrades one of the nation's most-gridlocked interchanges, the 101-405, detouring thousands of motorists onto neighborhood streets.

The closure of the on-ramps - along with the Greenleaf off-ramp into the heart of the San Fernando Valley - will allow Caltrans to shave as much as two years off the improvement project, which had been slated for completion in 2008, officials said Tuesday.

When construction of this phase of the project gets under way in 2004, city traffic officers will be stationed near the interchange to help direct motorists through detours onto local streets.

``My God, I can see the traffic backed up to Europe,'' said Richard Leyner, past president of the United Chambers of Commerce and president of the Encino Neighborhood Council.

``How do you get on the freeway?'' he said. ``Obviously they know what they're doing ... I would prefer they close one (ramp) at a time. I think it's a mistake.''

But other residents said they were willing to put up with traffic on surface streets if it means a quicker end to gridlock.

``To me, that's a short-term inconvenience. If that does it faster, we're better off,'' said Homeowners of Encino President Gerald Silver.

While the detours are still being planned, officials say motorists will have little choice but to use northbound Sepulveda Boulevard to enter the 405 at Burbank Boulevard. They also could take the Ventura Freeway (101) to the northbound 405.

And motorists used to taking the Greenleaf Avenue off-ramp will have to get off at Mulholland Drive at the top of the hill, or exit at Burbank Boulevard.

``It's going to be worse temporarily,'' said James Okazaki, assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. ``This was the only way we could save money and time.

``Sometimes it's better to do it this way, biting the bullet.''

The shortened work schedule was mentioned Tuesday as Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss - flanked by officials from Caltrans and LA-DOT, along with representatives of homeowners and business groups - discussed a motion he introduced that is designed to move the improvement project forward.

``Right behind me is a twisted interchange,'' said Weiss, whose district includes the area. ``When (motorists) creep through this interchange, they have to be asking themselves, 'Doesn't somebody want to fix this problem?'''

Weiss' motion would amend the city's 1963 agreement with the state Department of Transportation to allow changes to city streets - a seemingly simple request, but the kind he said can lead to neighborhood efforts to blocking a project.

The improvement project was launched in 1997 after Daily News stories detailed gridlock problems on the interchange, which carries a half-million vehicles daily and at that time was seen as the seventh worst in the nation.

Construction on the $51 million, three-phase project began in 2000 and focuses on the northbound 405 as it intersects with the eastbound 101.

One phase adds a northbound freeway lane from Mulholland Drive to Greenleaf Avenue - a project that should open in summer.

Another phase, to be open by 2004, widens the eastbound connector to the 101 to two lanes.

But the middle piece is the trickiest and involves permanently closing the ramp that loops motorists from eastbound Ventura Boulevard onto the northbound 405 near the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

Instead, motorists will be routed onto southbound Sepulveda Boulevard and onto Greenleaf Avenue. They can then either drive through a tunnel under the freeway and onto the northbound 405 or stay in the right lane and connect to the 101.

Caltrans hopes that, by shutting down the Ventura Boulevard on-ramp and Greenleaf Avenue's on- and off-ramps simultaneously, they can halve that phase of the project from 18 to nine months and trim the overall upgrade by 18 to 24 months.

Caltrans official Raja Mitwasi said he believes motorists will learn to navigate the system after the closure of the ramps, which carry at least 5,000 motorists a day.

``As soon as they do it once, they'll get used to it,'' said Mitwasi, Caltrans' deputy district director for program/project management.

``At the end, they'll have a project that is going to relieve the congestion.''

LA-DOT had considered setting up a temporary on-ramp at Morrison Street, just north of the interchange, but the idea was abandoned because of the extra time and money, said Okazaki, the department's assistant general manager.

He said DOT and Caltrans studied other options but ultimately decided that closing the ramps simultaneously would be the most efficient.

As part of the project, Caltrans will have to condemn property from some local companies, but the Valley Industry and Commerce Association's Fred Gaines said he hoped the overall impact on business would be outweighed by fixing gridlock.

``This is a project of such importance to the Valley,'' said Gaines, who lent his support ``as long as people are fairly compensated.''

The entire project counts among the small steps that traffic planners say go a long way to providing relief.

Mitwasi said when complete, the improvements may trim just two to five minutes off a commute, but will help provide a safer, less congested environment at the troubled interchange.

``Anything we can do will help,'' Mitwasi said. ``We know it's going to improve congestion, improve safety.''

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405 RAMP CLOSURES

SOURCE: Caltrans; Daily News research

Warren Huskey/Staff Artist