Long Beach streets that will be affected by freeway closures due to the Orange County Transit Authority’s (OCTA) West County Corridor project will receive $1.5 million in funding to ease traffic flow, Long Beach City Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell’s office announced today. The City Council must approve the funding during next week’s meeting.
The West County Corridor project will close the 22 West freeway off-ramp that merges into 7th Street for at least one full year. Effectively shutting off the possibility of exiting onto 7th Street or Studebaker, the construction could potentially cause heavy traffic increases to the Westminster exit and the Palos Verdes exit for drivers traveling on the 405 North. Concerns had been raised in community meetings about the effects that this construction would have on traffic overcrowding, as well as residents that must take longer routes to reach their homes.
Construction is likely to begin in the summer of 2010.
The $1.5 million comes from the OCTA, and will be used for traffic improvement and enforcement, infrastructure impacts and other unforeseen needs, according to the Councilmember’s press release. Further details on the funding’s intended purpose are not yet known.
“This money will help us protect our neighborhoods and quickly respond to project impacts,” said O’Donnell, in the release. “We fought for our neighborhoods and succeeded in bringing back over one million dollars to protect them.”