RAMP BACK SOON, THOUGH CALTRANS WILL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT.

Byline: SUE DOYLE

However you navigate through L.A.'s vast stretches of concrete and asphalt, you're bound to wonder how transportation works here.

Whether it's roadway projects, traffic signals or shuttle buses that leave you puzzled, we will find answers to your questions.

Below, we answer a sampling of reader questions. Send yours to alongfortheride(at)dailynews.com

Q: When is the reopening of the San Diego (405) Freeway northbound ramp at Sepulveda Boulevard?

-- Judge Shari Silver, Los Angeles Superior Court.

A: Dear Judge Shari:

The project should wrap up by late August or early September, but don't throw the book at us for that vague answer. It's coming from Caltrans.

The on-ramp you're asking about at Sepulveda Boulevard is the last part of the $46 million project to be completed.

The project at the Ventura (101) and San Diego freeways has been a two- year undertaking. It's one of the busiest interchanges in the country with 500,000 commuters passing through each day.

To accelerate merging cars, it extends a lane on the northbound San Diego Freeway past the Greenleaf Street off-ramp to the Ventura Freeway.

The Sepulveda Boulevard on-ramp is being reconfigured to separate the Ventura Freeway connector on-ramp from the northbound San Diego Freeway on-ramp, again to help with transitions.

Q: What does it take to get a traffic signal installed? There's a stop sign now at Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Highway, but the intersection needs a traffic light. I've seen four car accidents there this year.

-- John Magnanimo of Canyon Country.

A: John, there's good news to report. The intersection is getting a traffic signal, according to Ken Firoozmand, West Valley district engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

The city agency is reviewing the signal now. Then there will be another review -- by Caltrans -- since there's a state highway involved. Firoozmand did not know, however, when the signal will be installed.

Already this year, 25 people have been killed at the intersection. By this time last year, 41 had died, said Detective Bill Bustos of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

And that's just reporting from the east side of the intersection, handled by the LAPD. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department oversees the west side of the intersection.

Residents seeking to have traffic signals installed can contact the transportation district office for their area and describe what's going on. Intersections are evaluated based on state guidelines -- including traffic and pedestrian volume, delays, visibility and accident patterns.

In this case, the number of deaths at the intersection did not trigger getting the signal. Instead, it is a condition required by the city from a developer working on a project in the area.

Q: A number of readers have asked what's with the gale-force wind inside the Universal City Red Line station. Others say there are strong winds between the ticket area, the stairs and the trains.

A: There are two ways riders could feel a wind effect inside the stations, Metro officials said.

Standing on platforms in the tunnels, riders feel the piston effect of the subway trains coming down the tracks before they even see them. Trains push air into the tunnel and then into the big open space where people are waiting.

Fans also circulate air at certain times of day inside the stations.