WEEKEND DRIVERS WARNED EXPECT EXTRA MESS ON I-5.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

VALENCIA - The word from California's freeway experts this holiday weekend is to avoid the stretch of the state's main freeway corridor - Interstate 5 - that crosses the Santa Clarita Valley.

One-hour delays are anticipated Friday and Monday, Labor Day, in Santa Clarita-area construction zones on the Golden State Freeway as vacationers celebrate the last days of summer on the road.

With extra traffic anticipated over the three-day weekend, the California Highway Patrol and state Department of Transportation put out an alert on Wednesday advising vacationers to consider their options.

``We're asking motorists to plan ahead, be familiar with the alternate routes and change their travel times to avoid the heaviest traffic,'' said CHP Capt. Brian Kilmer, commander of the local Highway Patrol station.

And expect the unexpected, Kilmer said, adding that collisions and other mishaps will result in further delays.

Two bridge construction projects, part of a three-year improvement of the freeway near the Six Flags California theme parks, have been causing daily backups on the Golden State Freeway under normal circumstances. Fifty million vehicles travel the stretch of road each year, and more than 500,000 trucks per month use the route.

The CHP and Caltrans advise motorists heading to Northern California from outside Santa Clarita to consider traveling state Highway 101 rather than the I-5. Electronic message signs on the state freeways will alert motorists to traffic problems miles ahead of any jams so they have time to change their routes, said Denis Katayama, senior transportation engineer for Caltrans.

Locally, The Old Road, which parallels the freeway, was identified as a good alternate. A new mile-long link of The Old Road opened two weeks ago, in time to handle the heavy holiday traffic.

On the Golden State Freeway, one lane in each direction between Magic Mountain Parkway and Rye Canyon Road has been closed since July for bridge replacement projects that are expected to be finished in March 2005, leaving only three lanes each way.