Los Angeles is notorious for its excessive traffic congestion, and is consistently ranked as the most gridlocked city in the world. Hoping to relieve some of this congestion, the California Department of Transportation and LA Metro are planning to build the first new freeway in LA County in 25 years.
The last freeway that was built in Los Angeles County, the Century Freeway or I-105, was expensive, displaced thousands of people, and further contributed to air and noise pollution. At the time, officials were certain that it would be the last freeway built in Los Angeles County.
The new 63-mile High Desert Corridor (HDC) Project would link the 14 and 18 freeways, connecting the communities of Palmdale and Lancaster in Los Angeles County with the communities of Apple Valley, Victorville, and Adelanto in San Bernardino County. According to L.A. Metro, this will reduce traffic congestion for commuters traveling east to west on the 210,10, 60, and 138 freeways.
Transportation experts say the project is beneficial, but environmentalists are worried that the cons outweigh the pros.
Bryn Lindblad, associate director of Climate Resolve, says that the High Desert Corridor will attract more commuters who will release more greenhouse gases into the already low-quality Los Angeles air.
Along with other environmentalists, Linblad believes that Los Angeles does not need a new freeway, and that the HDC project will induce sprawl which increases car dependence in Los Angeles.
"This project is doubling down on an old, outdated model for growth that isn't sustainable. It's creating problems for people because it's putting new houses so far away from jobs," she said. "Because transmissions are our largest source of [greenhouse gas] emissions, I really think that our investments should be helping us tackle that rather than creating a whole bunch of new climate emissions."
James Moore, director of the Transportation Engineering Program at USC Viterbi, agrees that the HDC is not necessarily a solution for traffic congestion. According to Moore, the project will encourage new commuters to use this new freeway rather than redirecting old commuters from existing freeways.
However, Moore supports the construction of the new freeway. "Roads add a lot of value to the quality of life for the population," he says, "In general, I think a freeway is in the public interest and would be a good use of scarce resources. Travelers receive new capacity, improved level of service, and short-term congestion relief."
In order to minimize the environmental impact of the road, CalTrans plans on building solar panels along the road as a sustainable source of clean energy. They also plan on implementing tolls along the road which will likely be used to partially fund the project.
CalTrans will begin purchasing land for the project in June.