Freeway

Originally, the connection of the Long Beach (710) Freeway to the Foothill (210) Freeway was considered a vital connection to reduce traffic in downtown Los Angeles. Interestingly, it still is a vital connection. As the population grew north of South Pasadena, the need to travel south to work intensified. Fremont Avenue, a main north-south street that goes through South Pasadena, and the Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway are the most viable means for traveling south. In the morning and afternoon, both routes resemble parking lots.

Traffic on eastbound lanes of the 134 Freeway in Glendale was brought to a brief halt following a crash on Tuesday afternoon. At 3:53 p.m., two cars collided near the Glendale Ave. exit ramp, according to the CHP. No injuries were reported. Eastbound traffic began to clear at 4:30 p.m.      

Genta Negata, 24, of Glendale was struck and killed after he drove from his Glendale home onto the Foothill (210) Freeway, exited his vehicle and then ran into traffic. According to California Highway Patrol Officer Todd Workman, Negata, a 2002 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, for some unknown reason drove a family member?s vehicle through his yard in the 1200 block of Shirley Jean Street in Glendale at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6. He knocked down two fences in the yard before driving onto surface streets.

Two crashes on the Ventura (134) Freeway in both directions this morning is snarling the morning commute in and out of Glendale. An overturned vehicle on the eastbound 134 Freeway near Harvey Drive briefly shut down the No. 3 and 4 lanes as emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage to the right shoulder. And a five-car pile up reported at about 7 a.m. in the westbound lanes before the 170 Freeway temporarily closed several lanes, backing traffic up to the Golden State (5)

A Glendale man who allegedly shot a woman to death Friday evening and pushed her body out of his car off the 210 Freeway in La Crescenta remained in surgery after apparently shooting himself, officials said. The identities of the man and the woman were not immediately available. Authorities closed the La Crescenta Avenue off-ramp from the westbound 210 Freeway where the body was dumped from a black Honda shortly after 5 p.m., when police started fielding 911 calls from witnesses.

A proposal to put a price tag on the controversial Long Beach (710) underground tunnel extension to the Foothill (210) Freeway stalled yet again today at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority meeting. The proposal from Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian, who also serves on the MTA Board of Directors, has been floundering since he brought it up in October as a way to get a cost estimate on the table before committing millions in Measure R tax money to the tunnel project.

A big-rig hauling a load of yams caught fire early this morning, snarling the morning commute on the southbound Golden State (5) Freeway at Western Avenue, officials said. The truck driver pulled over to the roadside about 2:30 a.m. after noticing flames sweeping through his rig, which was carrying at least 50,000 pounds of yams, said California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, he said. Flames overtook the big-rig cab and trailer, forcing authorities to shut two lanes and issue a Sigalert for the major thoroughfare.

Caltrans will close sections of the Ventura (134) Freeway over the next three days as crews repair areas that were damaged during the tanker fire on April 7. The periodic closures, which started Thursday, continue through Sunday, and will impact the westbound lanes from Riverside Drive to Pacific. On Friday, lanes will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, lanes will be closed from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Westbound drivers will be rerouted to another 134 Freeway ramp.

Several lanes on the westbound Ventura (134) Freeway will be closed for three nights this week as Caltrans workers repair damage caused by a tanker fire on April 7. As many as three lanes of the westbound 134 between Pacific Avenue and Riverside Drive will close on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights. Workers will remove k-rails along the shoulder, install a new guardrail, wash and sandblast fire-charred sections of the bridge and stripe the roadway. The closures will take place from 10 p.m.  Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday, 11 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday and midnight Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday.

LA CRESCENTA — A 17-year Los Angeles girl died Wednesday after a pickup truck struck her as she stood in the fast lane of the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway, officials said. The 1997 Ford F-150 headed east hit Jessica Catheryna Anderson at a speed of 65 mph, just west of Lowell Avenue about 4:30 a.m., CHP Officer Vince Ramirez said. Anderson died at the sceen of the incident, police said. Anderson's vehicle came to a stop Wednesday morning in the no. 2 lane after a previous, unrelated traffic collision, Ramirez said.

Four people pitched their canvass chairs on a recent day above the Foothill (210) Freeway, their gaze focused unwaveringly on the roadway below. Their mission: count cars. All of them. One of the counters, Leandra Alvarez, positioned her fingers poised over two rows of four keypads at the top of a clipboard, with keys for cars and two-axle, three-axle and four-axle trucks. She was charged with watching two lanes. “It's not that hard,” she said, her eyes fixed on the road.

Local and state officials have announced a $72-million project to add truck lanes on the Interstate 5 through Newhall Pass and into Santa Clarita. The truck lanes are needed to separate heavy big-rig traffic from passenger vehicles and create safer, quicker passage for a growing population in the Santa Clarita Valley, state transportation officials say. The southbound truck lane will extend 3.7 million from Pico Canyon Road/Lyons Avenue in Santa Clarita to the Antelope Valley (SR-14)

More than 60 people on Monday packed La Cañada High School for an update on the proposed extension of the Long Beach (710) Freeway - a long simmering issue on which many communities have already staked positions. The effects of closing the so-called “gap” between the 710 and Foothill (210) freeways will be disclosed in the coming months as state and county transportation officials prepare a draft environmental impact report, organizers of the meeting said. Alternatives for closing that gap that are being studied include a 4.5-mile surface extension - a proposal that is all but politically dead - a tunnel extension under South Pasadena, new transit and rail lines or upgrades to surface streets.

Letter writer Susan Bolan's comments, “Proposed 710 tunnel could be catastrophic,” are correct. The only sensible way to connect the 710 Freeway to the 210 Freeway is with a simple, relatively inexpensive, below-grade level section (not a tunnel) along the original route for which Caltrans purchased the property years ago. Hal Weber Glendale

Several lanes on the westbound Ventura (134) Freeway will be closed for three nights this week as Caltrans workers repair damage caused by a tanker fire on April 7. As many as three lanes of the westbound 134 between Pacific Avenue and Riverside Drive will close on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights. Workers will remove k-rails along the shoulder, install a new guardrail, wash and sandblast fire-charred sections of the bridge and stripe the roadway. The closures will take place from 10 p.m.  Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday, 11 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday and midnight Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday.

Ron Magneson's family moved to Walnut Drive in 1948 when he was four years old, and remained there until they were forced to leave in 1964 by construction of the Glendale (State Route 2) Freeway. “It was a very short street,” he recalled. “It was one block long, running between east Chevy Chase Drive and Eden Avenue. The original home in the area was across the street and was built by the Brown family. Eleanore Drive was named after Mr. Brown's wife.” Lilac Lane was named for the lilacs she planted on the hill adjacent to the new road, which originally opened onto Walnut, he added.

Caltrans will close sections of the Ventura (134) Freeway over the next three days as crews repair areas that were damaged during the tanker fire on April 7. The periodic closures, which started Thursday, continue through Sunday, and will impact the westbound lanes from Riverside Drive to Pacific. On Friday, lanes will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, lanes will be closed from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Westbound drivers will be rerouted to another 134 Freeway ramp.

Hakop Maghakyan, the motorist who caused the fiery crash on the 134 Freeway (“Motorist out on bail following freeway fire,” April 10), should be fined at least $250,000 plus to cover the cost of damage to the freeway. His license should be confiscated permanently, and he should be required to attend classes for driving under the influence. Also, he should have to put in a lot of community service hours. He should not be out on bail, because he will probably get in another car and continue to drive as he pleases.

A 45-year-old San Pedro woman was killed Sunday after the stalled car she was in was rear - ended by another vehicle on the Glendale (2) Freeway , officials said. The woman, Teresa Rodriguez, was pronounced dead about 1:34 p.m. at the scene of the crash, which was just north of Mountain Street, according to the California Highway Patrol. “This is a bad area,” said Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey. “We have multiple [traffic collisions]

Burglars on Wednesday targeted five homes in affluent neighborhoods, pilfering cash, jewelry and computers while most residents were at work, police said. In one burglary, thieves entered a home between 2 to 4 p.m. on the 1200 block of San Luis Rey Drive through an unlocked front door and stole a briefcase while the resident was taking a nap, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. “We need people to be vigilant within their communities and neighborhoods,” he said. Police were still investigating whether Wednesday's rash of break-ins were connected to a recent spate of burglaries in the San Fernando Valley and Glendale committed by an organized group made up of South Los Angeles gang members.