Community information meeting today will review improvement project’s scope, impact and timelines
Los Angeles County is gearing up to make big improvements to The Old Road, a major highway and artery that serves the Santa Clarita Valley, that is frequently used by locals and commuters when traffic on the Interstate 5 is snarled due to roadwork or emergency closures.
The proposed multi-year road improvement project targets the stretch of the road along the unincorporated communities by Stevenson Ranch–from Magic Mountain Parkway to Henry Mayo Drive–west of the city of Santa Clarita.
The project would reconstruct and widen portions of the Old Road to six lanes and add a protected bicycle lane in each direction.
The Old Road project would also replace two bridges, including the Old Road over the Santa Clara River bridge, which is currently classified as structurally deficient by the Federal Highway Administration for seismic, flood, and highway design.
Los Angeles County’s Public Works filed a Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for the project last month, and will host a hybrid in-person and virtual public meeting to obtain community input on Thursday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Steven Ranch Library, located at 25950 The Old Road, Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381.
“Large scale road improvements like this one are complex and have a lot of moving parts,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “It has taken six years to get to this point and there are still important milestones ahead–including obtaining an environmental clearance–but we’re getting closer. I’m hopeful community members will participate in the meeting so that they are informed of what’s ahead. The goal is to break ground in 2024 with community enthusiasm and support of this Old Road project.”
More information about the proposed project can be found at pw.lacounty.gov/projects/the-old-road-over-santa-clara-river.