This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press April
23, 2001.
By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - Preliminary designs for the widening of Avenue S from the Antelope Valley Freeway to about 20th Street East have been approved, according to city officials.
The approval paves the way for the acquisition of more government funds for the project, as well as the preparing of a final design and the acquisition of remaining rights-of-way.
Work on the project could begin as soon as March 2002. If it does, the project could be completed by December 2003, city officials have said.
The work will leave the street with four lanes for traffic, a median with pockets for left- and right-hand turns, new traffic signals, an off-street bikeway and two new bridges over the railroad tracks at 18th Street East, according to Steve Williams, director of the city's Department of Public Works.
To maintain clearance between the road and a pair of high-pressure natural gas lines, the center of Avenue S will be shifted to the north, a city report showed.
Ultimately, the street will be widened to six lanes, when traffic demand calls for it.
As part of the project, the intersections of Avenue S with Fifth Street East, Sierra Highway, 10th Street East and 20th Street East will be improved, as will access to the city's park-and-ride lot near Division Street, Williams said.
The project will cost about $20 million, with approximately half coming from the city and the other half from various government funding sources, he said.
While the project is good news for the long run, it will be a headache over the short run for the thousands of motorists who use Avenue S each day.
Those motorists will have to find new ways to get to the neighborhoods and shopping centers along the street.
The widening of Avenue S will follow work on a related project: The widening of the southbound offramp leading to Avenue S from the AV Freeway.
With the approval of Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, the city will add a second lane to the southbound offramp and install signals to control traffic entering and exiting the freeway.
If Caltrans approves the permit that the city needs to begin construction, work on the ramp improvements could be completed by late this year.