La Verne freeway needed
Campus Times
February 21, 1997
cartoon by: Stephanie Lesniak
It is 5 p.m. on a Friday. You are driving toward Claremont on Foothill
to meet some friends for dinner. At that time, you realize you should have
thought twice about taking Foothill Boulevard. Now you are stuck in major
traffic and what should have been a 10 minute ride is now 25 minutes.
This scenario illustrates the need for the continuation of the Foothill
Freeway through La Verne, Claremont and all points east, a project Caltrans
will begin at the end of this year.
Everyone living and working in the area has had to deal with Foothill
Boulevard rush hour traffic at one time or another and it is such a pain
to drive six miles out of your way just to take the 10 Freeway to get somewhere,
as if that is any better. But luckily, those problems will soon be over.
For 38 years, the city of La Verne has fought with Caltrans to build
a freeway to run through the city and all that arguing has finally paid
off. Caltrans is finally beginning the extension of the Route 30 Freeway.
Route 30 will close the gap between the existing 210 Freeway in La Verne
and Interstate 215 in San Bernardino. The 30 Freeway will be 28.2 miles
long and have three general purpose lanes in both directions and carpool
lanes, stretching the distance all the way from Los Angeles to San Bernardino
counties.
Caltrans is hoping to improve traffic safety and clean up the environment
with less pollution through carpooling.
The total cost for the project will be $1 billion, which will be paid
by local, state and federal taxes.
The project will begin at the end of this year and should be done by
the year 2010.
With the constant increase of traffic, by 2010 it is likely that the
opening of the new artery will be much anticipated and needed to ease an
ever-increasing traffic flow.
An off-ramp for Route 30 in La Verne will be at Fruit Street, but off-ramp
locations in Claremont are still being negotiated. A Towne Avenue off-ramp
is also a strong possibility.
Some may say another freeway is a nuisance that will just take more
traffic through another city. But at least it will be getting 43,000 vehicles
off La Verne streets as employment and population continues to increase
in the area. The new freeway is expected to even increase business revenues.
Another point that should not be forgotten is the great accomplishment
the city of La Verne had, getting the Route 30 Freeway depressed approximately
6 feet below ground level. Though it will not be a tunnel, it will be tucked
under the city, and it will greatly resemble the nearby 10 Freeway, being
less loud and obtrusive to La Verne.
Because the freeway is solely a Caltrans project, the city of La Verne
and the other cities that the freeway will run through often have had their
hands tied in the planning of the freeway. The city of La Verne, however,
is to be commended for the time and energy taken to get the freeway depressed
below the city. Some nearby cities will not have this luxury.
It is no easy task to put a freeway through any established city. Obviously,
people are going to be upset, houses will need to be taken out and the city
atmospheres will change. We are lucky, however, to live in a place where
city employees care enough to make the adjustments easier for the resident
of La Verne, as we face the fact that we need a freeway.