REVERSIBLE LANE OK'D FOR MULHOLLAND TUNNEL.Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer It is the worst traffic bottleneck in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . And after more than eight years of debate and study, the City Council on Wednesday approved an $11.3 million plan to create a reversible lane A reversible lane (counterflow lane, tidal flow lane, or contraflow lane in transportation engineering ) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. during rush hours through the Mulholland Tunnel on Sepulveda Boulevard. At any given time of day, the three-lane Sepulveda Boulevard tunnel separating the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. from West Los Angeles
But under the plan, city officials will reconfigure the lanes to add a southbound lane in mornings and a northbound lane in evenings to accommodate traffic flows. Message boards will be installed in both directions and special lights within the tunnel will be installed to inform motorists when the lanes are open. The tunnel also will be connected to the city's electronic-monitoring system so traffic can be reviewed constantly. Councilmen Bill Rosendahl Bill Rosendahl is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing Council District 11, including the communities of Brentwood, Del Rey, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Venice, West Los Angeles and Westchester. and Jack Weiss Jack Weiss, is a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 5th district. Weiss was elected in 2001 and reelected in 2005. The 5th district includes parts of the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. hailed the project, saying they had been working for years to get homeowner groups and neighborhood councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. to back the project. "When you're leaving the city and going to the Valley during rush hour, it makes no sense to require drivers to go from two lanes to one lane," Weiss said. "It is a bottleneck without any purpose. A reversible lane will provide great improvement for drivers from the Valley and to the Valley." Rosendahl said the reversible lane is part of overall improvement efforts along Sepulveda Boulevard from the tunnel to Wilshire Boulevard. Other parts of the program designed to improve traffic flow include creating right-turn pockets, lengthening left-turn lanes and creating a bicycle path. Officials said construction is expected to begin in June 2008 and take one year. rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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