TRYING TO AVOID GRIDLOCK BUILDERS, LEADERS SEEK CAR-POOL, TRUCK LANES TO EASE COMING TRAFFIC.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

More than 58,000 homes are slated to be built from Santa Clarita to Gorman in the next 20 years, and county and local leaders are betting on road upgrades and economic growth to cope with the inevitable traffic crush that will bear on the Newhall Pass - the region's only route to the south.

Interstate 5, Foothill Boulevard and The Old Road all squeeze through the mountain pass toward Los Angeles, and its vulnerability to congestion has been exposed over the years when a single crash, flood or earthquake can close one of the routes, choking traffic citywide.

Even on an uneventful workday, some 250,000 vehicles travel on that stretch of the I-5 between Calgrove Boulevard and the Antelope Valley Freeway split, according to 2003 state Department of Transportation figures.

Some experts predict in 20 years, traffic will double to more than 400,000 vehicles a day, with such looming developments as the 20,885-home Newhall Ranch west of the I-5 and The Tejon Ranch Company's 25,000-home Centennial project south of the Grapevine.

With plans for alternate routes hampered by mountain terrain, official strategy has focused on improving existing routes.

The Golden State Gateway Coalition, an alliance of builders and local leaders, has lobbied for car-pool and truck lanes on the I-5 from the edge of Sylmar 3.5 miles north toward Santa Clarita. Preliminary studies show the lanes could increase capacity there by 50 percent at a cost of $95 million.

Victor Lindenheim, the group's executive director, also touted the $245 million ``Cross-Valley Connector,'' an 8.5-mile east-west road that will link I-5 and Antelope Valley Freeway through Santa Clarita to prevent bottlenecking when the two freeways meet at the Newhall Pass.

``That's why the I-5 is so important,'' he said. ``There is no alternative right now. We like to see the truck lanes, and it would be logical to extend them up to the Kern County line (if there is funding).''

Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, has shepherded federal funding for local traffic-relief projects over the years. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently approved a transportation bill with $5 million for the Cross-Valley road and $2 million for the I-5 car-pool and truck lanes.

The bill is slated for consideration this week by the full House of Representatives.

These fixes could work, Lindenheim said, because officials believe some 40 percent of southbound traffic in the region consist of tractor-trailers.

``When you consider the traffic flow of where it's coming from, the majority of traffic coming into the Newhall Pass is coming from outside North County,'' he said. ``Of course, there will be additional residents. ... Perhaps the number of vehicles will increase. But the bulk of the usage will not be from people within the area.''

It's a belief shared by The Newhall Land and Farming Company, which has paid into road projects along state Highway 126 and the I-5 for Newhall Ranch. Job growth and diversity relieve congestion when Los Angeles-bound commuters work closer to home, spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer said.

``If we can bring some of those jobs up locally, that will make a huge difference,'' she said.

Newhall Ranch, the company's massive development straddling the I-5 and the Los Angeles-Ventura county line, will host some 20,000 permanent jobs. And as Santa Clarita's economy matures in the next 20 years, residents can find work within the valley, Lauffer said.

``There is significant room for job growth in the Santa Clarita Valley, and I think it's critical that we keep promoting that,'' said Lauffer, who estimates the valley could provide more than 100,000 permanent jobs in the next decade.

Also, the Tejon Industrial Complex and other Kern County projects expected in the next decade could drive commuter traffic north, said Paul Novak, planning deputy for 5th District County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose district includes the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Still, Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Laurene Weste believes county planners could do more to manage growth and its consequences. At a joint meeting last week, she charged the county has neglected infrastructure in reviewing development for the region.

She said the county has to be the one to tell developers: ``This is what you will do; this is what the requirement is.''

``You have to do the macro planning for them,'' she said.

Novak, however, said the plans for Newhall Ranch already include a swath of open space, a possible sheriff's station and parks. More than 6,600 of the 12,800 acres of county land slated for development in the Santa Clarita Valley are dedicated to open space, parks, and fire stations.

Also, the county has considered adopting a system that allows for annual reassessment of developer fees to ensure builders pay for their share in new infrastructure, Novak said.

``You want to make sure you're collecting the right amount of money,'' he said. ``When the county considers a development proposal application, we condition those projects to provide the roads and the parks ... prior to when development occurs. We are planning strategically the infrastructure concurrent with the growth.''

Weste also urged county officials to complete ``One Valley, One Vision'' - a mega-planning document years in the making designed to ensure Santa Clarita has a say in important decisions outside its borders, including the approval of housing developments in neighboring county territory.

``The Newhall Pass is a way, but we're also going to have to deal with the Metro and rail, and also you have to design them,'' she said. ``That's One Valley, One Vision again. You have to figure out where they work and why they work. ... Until we get that plan adopted, we're not master- planning here. It's very piecemeal.''

Novak said the plan directing regional planning for at least the next two decades is about two years away from completion.

``I think that Supervisor Antonovich and Councilwoman Laurene Weste have the same objective for the Santa Clarita Valley, which is to provide a positive quality of life for residents,'' he said.

``The county and city are working together right now to come up with a series of growth and development alternatives.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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