Among Various Mass Transit Proposals, New Vehicular Tunnel for I-405 Proposed

[andy3175]

First, an opinion about the recent reconstruction of I-405 through West LA and Sepulveda Pass:

http://www.laweekly.com/news/11-billion-and-five-years-later-the-405-congestion-relief-project-is-a-fail-5415772

This past May the project known as the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvement Project came to official completion, with resulting new on-ramps and off-ramps, bridges and a northbound 405 carpool lane stretching 10 miles between the 10 and 101 Freeways.

The four-turned—five-year, $1.1 billion project became a long-running nightmare of sudden ramp closures, poorly advertised by Metro and made all the worse by baffling detours that led drivers into the unfamiliar Bel Air Hills and Sherman Oaks hills, dead ends and unlit canyons.

As Metro's closures and delays reached their height in 2013, L.A. Weekly encountered stranded motorists merely by following Metro's official detours – which in many cases were roads to nowhere. And it isn't over in the Valley or on the Westside. Sudden ramp and lane closures are still hitting motorists at Getty Center, Valley Vista, Skirball Center and elsewhere as work on the officially completed project grinds on.

There is one crystal-clear improvement: With barricades gone and ramp closures less frequent, commuters are at least getting relief from problems Metro itself created – particularly its widely mocked detours, which proved indecipherable on its website and could not be explained by road crews. Now, says Brian Taylor, director of UCLA's Institute of Transportation Studies, commuters who had to leave home "at 5:15 a.m." during the five-year rebuilding are "leaving at 7."

But the $1.1 billion question hangs in the air: Is the 405 any more relieved of congestion than when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congressman Brad Sherman and County Supervisor Gloria Molina demanded in 2006 that L.A.'s "fair share" of state bond money be used to add carpool lanes to the 405?

The answer is no.

A traffic study by Seattle-based traffic analytics firm Inrix has shown that auto speeds during the afternoon crawl on the northbound 405 are now the same or slightly slower – the maddening 35-minute tangle between the 10 and the 101 is actually a minute longer.

And then there is LA Metro's impressive list of projects intended for an upcoming voter ballot. While most projects are related to mass transit, a notable exception is a proposed toll tunnel under Sepulveda Pass, presumably to relieve I-405:

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-transit-projects-20160311-story.html

http://laist.com/2016/03/11/metro_to_unveil_project_wishlist_in.php

Metro plans to unveil a list of projects it hopes to take on if a $120 billion ballot measure makes its way through in November, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The project list, obtained by the Times, touches nearly every corner of the county, east to west and north to south, with five new transit lines and six extensions of lines already in place.

The stand-out star on the list is a tunnel through the Sepulveda Pass, an option for those trying to escape notoriously awful 405 traffic. The tunnel could have a toll freeway and connected the Purple and Expo Lines with the Orange Line bus in the Valley. Of course such a hefty project could cost up to $10 billion, the Times said.

A prior article from Nov 2015 (http://laist.com/2015/11/18/libertarian_tunnels.php) dives into The Reason Foundation's tunnel proposal, which includes the proposed, tolled Sepulveda Pass freeway tunnel among others.

[andy3175]

I've found some additional information including a staff report that lists Metro's intended highway projects. A tunnel for 405 is not all.

http://boardsecretary.metro.net/2016/03_March/RBM%20Item%204.1.pdf

The draft Plan anticipates approximately $120+ billion (year of expenditure (YOE)) over a 40+-year period. It relies on the following funding assumptions: a ½ cent sales tax augmentation to begin in FY18; an extension of an existing ½ cent sales tax rate beyond the current expiration of Measure R in 2039; with a combined 1 cent sales tax sunset in the year 2057 and a partial extension for ongoing repairs, operations, and debt service. Assumptions for project cost inflation, tax revenue growth, sub-regional revenue targets, and population and employment data are described in Attachment B, the Working Assumptions Framework.

A 45-year plan, through 2062, and a 50-year plan, through 2067, is also recommended for consideration, which would allow for the expediting of major transit projects in order to address the region's most critical infrastructure in a more timely manner.

Attachment H of the document has a map and the following list of highway projects that would be included:

1 High Desert Corridor Project (Right-of-Way)(P3 Candidate)[nc]
2 I-5 N Capacity Enhancements (SR-14 to Lake Hughes Rd) [nc] - adding 1 Truck lane and 1 HOV lane in each direction
3 SR-71 Gap: I-10 to Rio Rancho Rd [sg]
4 SR-57/SR-60 Interchange Improvements [sg]
5 I-105 Express Lane: I-405 to I-605 [sb]
6 Sepulveda Pass Corridor (Busway)(P3 Candidate) [sf, w]
7 I-710 South Corridor Project Phase 1(P3 Candidate) [gc]
8-14 Transit projects
15 I-605/I-10 Interchange [sg]
16 I-5 Corridor Improvements: I-605 to I-710 [gc]
17 I-405 South Bay Curve Improvements [sb]
18 I-710 South Corridor Project Phase 2(P3 Candidate)[gc]
19 I-110 ExpressLanes Extension to I-405/I-110 Interchange [sb]
20 SR-60/I-605 Interchange HOV Direct Connectors [sg]
21-25 Transit projects
26 I-405/I-110 Interchange HOV Connect Ramps & Interchange Improvements [sb]

The report (also Attachment H) offers this nugget about the High Desert Corridor:

The project extends from SR-14 in LA County to SR-18 in San Bernardino County. It consists of 4 components: Freeway (SR-14 to 100th St.: up to 4 mixed-flow lanes in each direction and from 100th St. to SR-18: 3 mixed-flow lanes in each direction), High Speed Rail connection between CA HSR in Palmdale and XpressWest in Victorville, Energy corridor that runs parallel to the freeway, and bicycle component along the entire freeway. From east to west, respectively; first 10 miles and last 10 miles will be non-tolled; the middle 30 miles will be tolled.

Stay tuned to see if this gets approved by the Metro board and then if 2/3rds of voters approve it.