Major SoCal freeway widening project begins

Major SoCal freeway widening project begins The California Department of Transportation is set to begin a major freeway-widening project of the Pomona Freeway (SR60) this month.
   The work will be done along an 11-mile stretch of the highway that runs through the San Gabriel Valley, book-ended by the San Gabriel Freeway (Interstate 605) on the West and the Orange Freeway (SR57) on the East.
   A common route for trucks carrying containers from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to warehouses and distributions centers in the Inland Empire, the stretch is also a heavily trafficked commuter route.
   The $125 million Caltrans project calls for construction of carpool lanes along the 11-mile length of the route. When completed in mid-2010, the project will complete a 48-mile stretch of carpool lanes running on the highway from East Los Angeles to the Inland Empire. State officials hope the carpool lanes will alleviate commuter traffic and thereby cut truck-related congestion. Trucks account for 5 percent of the traffic on the project stretch of the highway.