Santa Clarita widens the road much traveled

In 1970, Santa Clarita, an unincorporated area in north Los Angeles County, was a small community, covering 200 square miles of mainly rural area.

Twenty years later, however, the community has undergone a 180-degree transformation.

In 1990, Santa Clarita consisted of 40 square miles and 130,000 people, and a community survey showed that traffic-related issues stemming from lack of roads was the number one issue plaguing the valley. The city’s main north/south material is San Fernando Road, also State Route 126, which bisects Santa Clarita.

This much-traveled road, which connects Santa Clarita’s Saugus and Newhall communities with access to Highway 14, was nothing more than a not-so-sleepy, two-lane road, and residents living just seven miles from the freeway on-ramp claimed it took them just as long to get to the freeway as it did to travel to their jobs in the San Fernando Valley.

To solve the problem, representatives from the city of Santa Clarita, L.A. county and the state joined funding and resources in a complex five-phase project that resulted in the widening of San Fernando Road.

The project transformed the road from two to four lanes, complete with right and left turn lanes, three bridge reconstructions, new and modified traffic signals, underground utilities and landscaping.

The $22 million San Fernando Road widening project began in 1991 with phases three and four — the widening and reconstruction of existing roadway, utility undergrounding, modification of the traffic signal at Circle J. Ranch Road and reconstruction of Placerita Creek bridge.

These two phases were funded by the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at a cost of $7 million. The next phase of the project, phase five, was the widening of Magic Mountain Parkway from Bouquet Canyon to Valencia Boulevard, and the widening and reconstruction of the existing roadway, utility undergrounding and reconstruction of the bridge over the South Fort River cost $8 million.

The construction team was led by Santa Clarita and funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and a local developer, Newhall Land and Farming Company, which began in May 1994, and was completed in 11 months — one year ahead of the scheduled completion date.

Phase two of the project involved the widening and reconstruction of existing roadway, utility underground, realignment of Magic Mountain Parkway and the San Fernando Road intersection, installation of a traffic signal at Magic Mountain Parkway and modification of the traffic signal at Drayton Street.

At a cost of $2.5 million, the project was administered by the city and funded by the city and Caltrans.

In 1993, the Santa Clarita City Council approved a recommendation to combine phases two and five of the San Fernando Project into one. Consolidation of the construction and the engineering functions resulted in a significant cost savings of more than $600,000.

The city council then voted to use the cost savings by applying them to previously unfunded construction of a storm drain and overlay of a portion of the roadway.

The final phase of the project, ironically called phase one, is currently under construction and entails widening and reconstruction of existing roadway, utility undergrounding, installation of the traffic signal at 15th Street, modification of the traffic signal at 13th Street and reconstruction of the Newhall Creek Bridge. At a cost of $4 million, the project is being administered by the county and funded by the city and Caltrans. This phase will be complete in May 1996.

During the six-year project, all the agencies were involved in extensive outreach campaigns that alerted residents and businesses about detours, lane closures and upcoming work.

The project also improved the area’s aesthetics. The widening of the Magic Mountain Parkway bridge included installation of hand-laid tiles, which now sets the standard for all other bridges in Santa Clarita.

The project also included landscaping and the undergrounding of utilities to rid the area of unsightly power poles. The San Fernando Road widening project is an example of how multiple agencies can work together on a project and bring it in on time and on budget.