Delays announced Monday on outreach for much-needed improvements to Highway 14 drew the ire of Los Angeles County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys and chairs the North County Transportation Coalition.
Caltrans and Metro are leading the Highway 14 North LA County Safety and Mobility Improvements Project, officials said last week, confirming a meeting for Palmdale and another for Santa Clarita.
Those plans seem to be on hold, for now, at least.
There was no reason given for the delay for the project, which is only currently budgeted for the studying phase, according to transportation officials.
Neither Caltrans nor Metro responded to a request for comment Monday in response to Barger’s statement.
A graphic from Metro shared in a statement by Barger noted the meetings scheduled for Thursday and Saturday in those respective cities have been “rescheduled for a later date,” according to Metro.
Barger issued a statement indicating she was “not happy,” adding the project needed to move forward with urgency.
“We’ve waited long enough to make improvements to (Highway 14),” she said. “It’s the lifeline route in North Los Angeles County that is known to have high accident rates with unpredictable travel times. It’s no secret that lane drops and lane gaps have caused severe problems on the State Route 14 in the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. Caltrans and Metro have studies dating back over a decade showing the high accident rates and unpredictable travel times on that state road. We need to tackle these issues head-on and without slowing down.”
A request Friday for the data from Caltrans that was used to justify the work was not made immediately available to The Signal.
There are 12 mainline segments and 17 ramp locations along the corridor that have higher than statewide average collision rates, according to data shared from Metro, regarding the Highway 14 corridor being discussed for improvement. Approximately three-quarters of all those crashes are caused by rear-end collisions.
The potential scope of work stretches from where the highway connects with Interstate 5 in the south to Highway 138, or Pearblossom Highway, in the north.
A statement from Barger indicates the work is part of the SR-14 Los Angeles County Safety & Mobility Improvement Corridor Project, which is being funded with local tax dollars by the North County Transportation Coalition, a regional transportation Joint Powers Authority comprised of Los Angeles County and the cities of Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster.
“Metro, in coordination with Caltrans and the North County Transportation Coalition Joint Powers Authority, is preparing a draft environmental impact report/environmental assessment (EIR/EA) to evaluate alternatives to enhance safety and improve mobility within the State Route 14 (SR-14) corridor,” according to a statement Friday from Patrick Chandler, a representative for Metro.
“The North County Subregion has identified Measure R and M funds from their subregional funds for the environmental phase. No funds have been identified for the future design and construction phases.”
