$218 million state grant includes funding to improve 57/60 Freeway bottleneck in Diamond Bar

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (CNS) -- California transportation officials on Monday announced a $218 million highway program to fix truck bottleneck routes in Los Angeles and throughout the state, including the frequently clogged interchange that connects the 57 and 60 freeways in Diamond Bar.

The funding is part of the $420 million State Route 57/60 project, with construction to start in 2022, two years earlier than scheduled.

State staffers announced recommendations for a total of $2 billion in new projects expected to create more than 100,000 jobs over the next several years while reducing traffic, improving goods movement, increasing transit service and investing in bike and pedestrian improvements.

"The SR 57/60 project is a priority for the San Gabriel Valley, and we truly appreciate the state funding award recommendation,'' said Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, who chairs the Capital Projects and Construction Committee of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

"The highway capacity improvements will help unclog this grinding daily traffic bottleneck for truckers and commuters alike,'' he added.

The proposed grant award is part of the 2020 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program providing $1.359 billion over three years to 28 highway, freight rail, port and border crossing projects statewide.

The program and the other recommendations will be considered for adoption at the Dec. 2-3 meetings of the California Transportation Commission.

The 57 and 60 freeways are among the most heavily traveled freight highway corridors in the country, SGVCG officials said, and the 2.5-mile confluence of the two highways ranks as the worst bottleneck for truck delays in California and the ninth-worst in the nation, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.

Due to lane drops and hazardous weaving between trucks and commuters, state officials said the confluence area is the second-highest truck accident location in Southern California with truck-related accidents 50% higher than the state average, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A complete list of recommended projects is available on the commission's website at www.catc.ca.gov under the Solutions for Congested Corrido Program, the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, and the Local Partnership Competitive Program. They include express lanes on the 105 Freeway and rail improvements in San Diego near the border with Mexico.

If approved as recommended, about 60% of the total $2 billion in funding would go to Southern California. The commission received 130 applications requesting $3.7 billion, nearly double the amount available.