SOLUTIONS SOUGHT FOR 138 HIGHWAY CORRIDOR STUDIED.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

LANCASTER - In a step to place crash-plagued Highway 138 in position for future construction dollars, the MTA will begin a study to find ultimate solutions for traffic congestion and poor safety conditions along the mostly two-lane road between Gorman and the San Bernardino County line.

At the urging of Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, both Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members, the county MTA approved $1.8 million for a 19-month-long ``major investment'' study.

``The study will look at what's really needed to complete an expressway between Gorman and the San Bernardino County line,'' Roberts said.

The major investment study will include consideration of various options for improvement of the Highway 138 corridor, including a project listed in the MTA's long-range transportation plan - to create a six-lane expressway and provide initial cost estimates and environmental reviews.

Slated to be completed in late 2003, the study will look at short-term options for traffic congestion, including car-pool lanes, safety improvements and the use of bus services, according to the MTA.

The study will also look at long-term solutions for congestion, such as additional highway lanes, special lanes for trucks and car pools, and the possibility of shifting the highway's location.

The study will set up the next stage of work, full-blown environmental studies and engineering, and would give the MTA a ready-to-go project if state transportation funds become available.

The Highway 138 study is actually the second part of a study started last summer on freeways in northern Los Angeles County. The first part of the study was an examination of the projected expansion of Interstate 5 and the Antelope Valley Freeway.

The Highway 138 portion of the study was deferred to allow the state Department of Transportation to complete an environmental impact report on plans to widen the eastern portion of the highway to four lanes. Data in the EIR, which has been completed, will be used for the major investment study.

Widening of the eastern portion of Highway 138 from the Antelope Valley Freeway to the Cajon Pass is considered the top transportation priority by Antelope Valley officials.

Dubbed ``Blood Alley'' by Antelope Valley residents, Highway 138 had what a state study noted as a higher-than-average number of fatal crashes over a five-year period. The crashes were attributed to the highway's rolling profile and lack of passing opportunities for motorists.

The state Department of Transportation estimated it would cost $184 million to widen that portion of the highway from two lanes to four lanes. The project, however, is not fully funded.

As an interim effort to provide relief, Caltrans plans to spend approximately $54 million to add about six miles of passing lanes and turn lanes on certain segments of the highway.

Work on the first installment of passing lanes between Longview Road and 146th Street East should begin in early 2003. Other segments would get attention between 2004 and 2006.

Caltrans' plan calls for passing lanes to be added in four areas: around Cheseboro Road, between 96th and 106th streets east, between Longview Road and 146th Street East, and between 175th Street East and Largo Vista Road.

The plan also calls for adding a left-turn lane to two segments, between 77th Street East and 89th Street East and between 126th Street East and Longview Road.