State approves funding for extra westbound lane
$32 million will help build another lane on 118 Freeway next year
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

It appears the westbound 118 Freeway through Simi Valley will be getting a new lane sooner than expected.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) this month approved an additional $32 million to add a new westbound lane to the 118 Freeway between Tapo Canyon Road and the Los Angeles County line.

Samia Maximous, director of highway and planning programs at the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC)- the county's funding agency- said the Highway 118 widening project was initially split into two phases.

Construction on the first phase- the new eastbound lane- began in March 2007 and is still underway.

"There was initial direction to push the second phase of the project back into outer years," Maximous said. "VCTC has been trying to get it back into the 200809 fiscal year, and that's what happened. They finally agreed to our recommendation."

In June 2007, the state allocated $50 million for the entire project, but rising construction costs prevented VCTC and Caltrans from beginning work on the westbound side.

The additional funding will allow the county, in cooperation with Caltrans, to complete a project package by the end of this year, with construction to follow in early 2009, Maximous said.

Simi Valley Councilmember Steve Sojka, who also serves on VCTC, said he testified at a state hearing two months ago in an attempt to secure the additional funding this year.

"It makes a whole lot more sense to continue with the westbound lane now, than to come back in 201112," Sojka said. "Our residents would have had to deal with (construction) twice- now with the eastbound side and then again in three or four years for the other side.

"There's a lot of common sense in this decision and I appreciate the fact that they even moved our project ahead of others in the state," Sojka added.

According to an official statement, the CTC decision is contingent upon the state's approving the full amount of transportation funding called for in propositions 42 and 1A.

"We all know how much downtime there is, sitting on that freeway," Sojka said. "If we can alleviate that at all, it's just better for the residents, better for our businesses and better for our community overall."