Inter change News and updates from a coalition of community and business leaders focused on the health and vitality of California’s transportation backbone — Interstate 5 Volume 5, No. 1 Summer 2007 On the Road to Relief ALSO INSIDE Message from the Executive Director — Page 2 Profile: The Caltrans Team — Page 2 Coalition Launches New Website — Page 5 ‘Why I-5 Is Important to Me” — Page 6 North County Project Updates — Page 8 Message from the Chairman — Page 10 www.goldenstategateway.org Phone: 661.775.0455 Fax: 661.294.8188 25709 Rye Canyon Road, Caltrans launches a study that could pave the way Suite 105 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 for an extreme Interstate 5 makeover — Story, page 3 From the Caltrans Assigns Well-Qualified Executive Director Team to I-5 Study Turning Kosinski: Project goals Money Into include increased safety, congestion relief Mobility and environmental re - By Victor Lindenheim Executive Director, sponsibility. Golden State Gateway Coalition fter the passage of the infra - xperience. Attentiveness. Expertise. structure bond proposal Leadership. These are just some of (Proposition 1B) last year, a the qualifications possessed by the Asigh of collective relief could be ECaltrans team assigned to the Interstate 5 heard from California’s voters — es - HOV and Truck Lane Study, which is ex - pecially from those of us who live pected to pave the way for much-needed and work in Southern California, improvements to the I-5 corridor in north - Ronald Kosinski and know the chronic pain of free - ern Los Angeles County. way gridlock. Heading the Caltrans team is Ronald Today, there is Kosinski, Caltrans’ deputy district director transportation projects in the Los Angeles guarded opti - for Environmental Planning, who has pro - and Ventura region. His division is respon - mism. Our fund - vided valuable leadership to the state sible for securing environmental approvals less, gridlocked transportation agency for more than two for all elements of the I-5 widening proj - thinking of the decades. ect, the I-405 widening project, the recent past has In discussing the I-5 project, Kosinski Alameda Rail Corridor and the agency’s been uplifted emphasizes the value being placed on $1 billion High Occupancy Vehicle with hopeful public input, and on increasing motorist (HOV) lanes plan. thoughts: “We safety while remaining sensitive to the en - Prior to this, Kosinski was a senior en - have some Victor vironment and improving the quality of vironmental planner, a supervisory posi - money to build Lindenheim life for everyone who depends on I-5. tion. Under his direction, the agency roads. Conges - He takes particular pride in the impend - completed environmental documents for tion relief is on the way.” ing realization of the I-5 widening project transportation projects costing more than Now, optimism is a good thing after many years of planning. $2.8 billion. He was also functional man - that can lead to good outcomes — “Caltrans is working closely with the ager for Orange County projects including but only when tempered by reality affected agencies and the public to evalu - all clearances for projects along the I-5, and supplemented by hard work and ate the I-5 truck lane and carpool lane pro - Route 1, as well as the HOV additions to focus. posals in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Routes 55, 57, 91 and 405. The reality is that we need to Kosinski said. “Four alternatives are being Noted accomplishments also include work together to ensure that north - studied at this time which have benefits as the pending improvements on Routes 1, ern Los Angeles County gets its fair well as impacts to the residents, business 10, 71, 101, 138, and 405 in Los Angeles share of transportation dollars from and motoring public. Our goal is to relieve County as well as Routes 23, 202 and 118 the state. And the federal govern - congestion, improve mobility and enhance in Ventura County. ment. And the county. safety, while addressing the environmental Kosinski credits the knowledge and And that is where the hard work concerns of the impacted communities.” skills of his staff in moving the projects and focus come in. through the environmental process. We have a plan for improving About Ronald Kosinski In anticipation of future highway im - transportation in our part of the Kosinski heads the Division of Envi - provement projects, Kosinski and the Di - county. LACMTA’s 2004 North ronmental Planning, and in that role he vision of Environmental Planning are See Lindenheim, page 5 manages 53 multi-disciplinary profession - working with the Right of Way division on als who develop environmentally sound See Caltrans, page 4 Page 2 INTERCHANGE, Summer 2007 I-5 Study Under Way Scoping Session ad Ro s . he Rd ug te The I-5 Study Marks Beginning H ou ke e R La idg d/R r R of Environmental rke Caltrans is weighing the options for a freeway Pa improvement project on Interstate 5 in the Review Process; Santa Clarita Valley. The project would add carpool and truck lanes to the freeway Construction between the I-5/SR14 interchange on the south and Parker Road on the north. d May Start in 2009 Roa yon Can ley Has End Study altrans has officially Newhall Ranch Road launched the public review and study processes for much- 126 d Roa needed improvements along the yon Can CInterstate 5 corridor through the Rye SCanta Clarita Valley. way k ain Par Mount The improvements, advo - Magic cated by the Golden State Gate - way Coalition, would include ard carpool and truck climbing lanes oulev ncia B to help decrease congestion and Vale upgrade traffic flow along this ay vital section of I-5, the backbone Parkw Bean of California’s transportation Mc network. “It’s really to improve the venue ons A ad/Ly overall movement of cars and on Ro Cany trucks on Interstate 5,” said Bob Pico Blume, a project manager for Strategic Infrastructure Solu - d ar ev ul tions, a consultant on the project. Bo ve ro Blume reviewed the planned lg project alternatives for the ap - Begin Study Ca proximately 30 people who at - 14 tended the Caltrans scoping d session June 4 at Santa Clarita ar ev City Hall. ul Bo a bo The scoping session was the al beginning of the public review B process for the project. Caltrans Deputy Director Ron Kosinski Map not to scale said the scoping period would Source: Caltrans proceed through June, after which the environmental studies would get under way — an en - vironmental impact report in The study zone for the proposed Interstate 5 improvement project ranges from the See Scoping, page 7 I-5/SR14 interchange on the south to Parker Road on the north. INTERCHANGE, Summer 2007 Page 3 Caltrans “This I-5 improvement project is an im - Continued from page 2 portant public/private partnership... (the the purchase of 500 to 1,000 acres of Santa Clara River habitat that it can use as a mitigation land bank for future projects in west project) has the potential to improve Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. This will enable expedited traffic operations and relieve congestion approvals of the numerous Caltrans transportation improvements needed in this area. in this region.” Other anticipated projects being handled by the Environmental — Ashraf Habbak Planning Division under Kosinski’s leadership include a fish pas - sage grant proposal that would restore the steelhead trout migra - Project Manager tion to Solstice Creek in Malibu. The Division is working with several agencies on this project. Kosinski, 58, is married with one son. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from California State University at Long Beach and a master’s degree in urban planning from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where his son now at - About the Caltrans tends. Division of Environmental Planning Ashraf Habbak The Division of Environmental Planning, which is over - Ashraf Habbak, the project manager on the I-5 HOV and seeing the Interstate 5 HOV and Truck Lane Study, in - Truck Lane Study, has been a project manager for Caltrans for cludes a variety of specialized offices with varied areas of five years. Before that he worked for Caltrans in construction for 11 years. expertise and responsibilities: “This I-5 improvement project is an important public/pri - vate partnership,” Habbak said. “Caltrans would like to thank Offices the Golden State Gateway Coalition, the Southern California I Biological/Mountain Area Branch Association of Governments and the Federal Highway Ad - I Central Area/Port and Rail/GIS Service Branch ministration for their partnership, teamwork and dedication to I Cultural Resources and LA County Local Assistance initiate and fund this study portion of the project, which has Branch the potential to improve traffic operations and relieve conges - tion in this region.” I Ventura County Branch I Coastal Area-Maintenance Biological Service Branch Division of Environmental Planning I Foothill Area/Consultant Contract Services Branch The Division of Environmental Planning serves the environ - I Resource Management/Grants Coordination Section mental needs of District 7 (Los Angeles and Ventura Counties). I NEPA Delegation It consists of a multi-disciplinary team of more than 50 individ - uals with specialties in a wide range of areas such as envi - I Local Assistance QA/QC Branch ronmental analysis, biology, archaeological resources, architectural history and social community impacts assessment. Responsibilities The Division also coordinates with other specialists in air, noise I Prepare all CEQA & NEPA documents (California Envi - and water quality, landscape architecture and hazardous materials ronmental Quality Act, National Environmental Policy Act) testing. The Division administers Caltrans’ responsibilities under I Secure environmental permits from various agencies as federal and state law in response to the National Environmental needed Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the California Environmental I Prepare biological studies Quality Act (CEQA) of 1973.