Caltrans wants your thoughts on making a stretch of the dreaded Arroyo Seco Parkway safer

Parts of the Arroyo Seco Parkway — a dreaded stretch of the 110 Freeway for many L.A. drivers — may be getting some safety upgrades.

Caltrans is looking for your feedback on potential plans to widen the shoulder on a tight turn, install rumble strips and concrete barriers, as well as update crash cushions, lighting and signs.

The work won’t dramatically change your commute, but Jason Roach, senior environmental planner and environmental lead for the project, said it should make those areas less nerve-wracking and easier to maneuver.

“It's got some crazy turns in it, it's really tight, it's got a retaining wall,” he told LAist. “There's hardly any shoulder, maybe none at all at this point.”

About the project

The overall goal of the proposed project is to help bring one of the country’s oldest freeways up to speed by improving some of the set-up and safety.

The stop sign on-ramps, narrow lanes and sharp turns can be a recipe for accidents, or at least an anxiety-inducing drive for those traveling between L.A. and Pasadena.

Juan Arias, senior transportation engineer and project manager, told LAist it will focus on three areas: where the northbound 110 and the northbound 5 Freeway meet, the Avenue 43 offramp, and the Arroyo Seco Channel Bridge.

But a majority of the work will be at the main freeway-to-freeway connector, which is called the sidehill viaduct.

The Caltrans work would include stretches of the 110 Freeway near the northbound 5 Freeway connector, the Avenue 43 exit and south of the Orange Grove exit.

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Caltrans

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The project would remove the remnants of a dead-end sidewalk, install rumble strips, and widen the shoulder from 2 feet to 10 feet so it won’t feel like “going through a race course,” Roach said. It would also upgrade overhead signs, highway safety lighting and crash cushions, Arias added.

But because of the freeway's age, the work won’t make it look all that different aesthetically.

“The whole Arroyo has [been] fraught with challenges because it’s very old, and it is a historic resource,” Roach said. “This project will not affect the historic integrity of the Arroyo Seco Parkway.”

How to get involved

The project is in the environmental review phase, and Caltrans is inviting you to share your thoughts on the plan until March 21.

You can send those to by mail to:

• Kelly Ewing-Toledo, deputy district director
  Division of Environmental Planning
  California Department of Transportation, District 7
  100 S. Main St., MS 16A
  Los Angeles, CA 90012

Or by email to SR110BridgeComments@dot.ca.gov.

The dead-end sidewalk on the sidehill viaduct.

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Jason Roach

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Caltrans

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A proposed retaining wall for the sidehill viaduct.

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DES, Bridge Architecture and Aesthetics

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Caltrans

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All comments will be responded to in the final environmental document, officials said.

You can find Caltrans' initial study here. They’re also available at the Arroyo Seco Library, Chinatown Branch Library, and the South Pasadena Public Library.

What’s next

Once the deadline for public comment has passed, Caltrans has a few options.

It could give environmental approval to the proposal, do more studies, or abandon the project completely.

If the project is approved and has enough funding, the department will move into the design phase. That’s expected to take more than two years, according to Arias.

Officials cautioned that once construction breaks ground, there will be nighttime and extended weekend closures. Drivers will have to rely on detours, and Riverside Drive is looking like a likely candidate, but the exact details haven’t been decided yet.

“We hope to have the traveling public well aware of when we're going to be out there breaking ground,” Roach said.