CA 170/5 merger

[bulkyorled]

  What exactly are they building right where the 170 merges onto the 5 North?  I can't seem to find exactly what it is, considering I drive it a lot I was curious, and on top of that its made such a huge mess and at certain times the dust it kicks up makes it slightly hazy in the area.

[NE2]

That's "ghost smog" to show what the air will look like when all the new freeways are open.

http://i-5info.com/ronald-reagan-freeway-sr-118-to-hollywood-freeway-sr-170/

[bulkyorled]

Ah thanks for that. I suppose the answer was easier to find than I thought. Thats a terrible merger there. One of the worst in the area I feel anyways.

[JustDrive]

I never liked the left entrance from 170 to the 5.  The jersey barrier separating the two roadways wasn't long enough.  Too many drivers on I-5 trying to move left as quickly as possible.

[bulkyorled]

I totally agree. It's terrible, everyone coming off the 170 wants to get over right to get off at Osborne or other upcoming exits. Not to mention everyone preparing to get on the 118 a few miles after that.  The whole set up isnt wide enough but there's almost no way to change it unless they blow the houses down that surround it.
Maybe someday, they've done it before.

[hm insulators]

I think they are, as a matter of fact, relocating the merger so that the regular lanes off the 170 go onto the right side of the 5 instead of the left. That old merger was always a bad design.

[agentsteel53]

I've never felt the 170/5 northbound merge to be a problem.  I've done it many times, from both sides.  It's usually a coin flip if I decide to take 5 straight through, or 101-170, when I go north.

[hm insulators]

The problem, as bulkyorled points out, is that half the people merging off the 170 onto the 5 want to get off at Osborne or Terra Bella, or simply (including myself) get at the exit lanes to the 118. I've always found it a bit nerve-wracking, especially during the afternoon rush hour. I used this merge many times when I lived in Van Nuys and my late Aunt Betty was alive and living in Sylmar. I still use it today from time to time when I'm visiting from Phoenix--my ex-roommate lives in Panorama City and there's a motel I stay at on Roxford Street at the 210 which is very close to a friend who lives in Sylmar. It's easier to go east on the 118 and catch the 210 to Roxford Street than it is to fight the traffic coming off the 405 and heading toward the bottleneck that is Newhall Pass.

Anyway, I think that new merger is going to be nice when it opens.

[bulkyorled]

I think it was just poorly planned out too. Having a major freeway merge onto another major one with 3 major exits as well as another major freeway on ramp all within 5 miles, plus always heavy traffic. Its amazing it works really haha It's almost smarter to get off at Roscoe (or whatever the current last exit is thats opened on the 170) and taking surface around and getting back on than staying on. Too many people, not enough people paying attention. No bueno.

I had a friend who had his car totaled on the Osborne exit because people were going too fast and cutting each other off recently