Hopes High For Development on Pepper Avenue. (SB Sun July 25, 2007)

BS Ranch Perspective

It is more likely that the Extension of Pepper Ave. Will not likely happen with the time that has passed since they have talked and planned to do it the first time in 1958! It is just awful that they will not be able to have an on/off ramp there at Pepper since there are so many people that live on the W/side of San Bernardino, and the E/side of Rialto that can use this on/off ramp to get home.

The Irony is that they built a Bridge across the driveway that is 900 E. Highland Ave. Rialto Ave. which is the house that is left there that they are talking about in the news article following my writing. They kept running into so many problems that are easily averted like that of the Kangaroo Rat, that is a Rat that lives in the Mojave Desert also & since they live there as well, you would think that they could have a road that is paved or a 1/2 mile to the next cross street which would be that of Highland Ave and the ON/Off Ramps of the new 210 Freeway which would be the great way for the home owners that live in the W/most limits of San Bernardino and E/most city Limits of Rialto to get home quicker, from work.

I cannot wait for the full progress of the Freeway to be completed, that means the Pepper Ave ON/OFF Ramps!!

BS Ranch

Hopes high for development on Pepper Avenue

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Article Launched:07/25/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

RIALTO - There are big hopes for Pepper Avenue now that the 210 Freeway is open. A team of developers is putting together two plans for mixed-use development on both sides of the 210. They would be part of the city's effort to give Rialto a boost by building along the 210 corridor. But there's a big problem: Pepper doesn't hit the 210, and it could be years before it does. That's because Rialto has run into setback after setback trying to extend the street less than a half mile north to the 210. The problems range from increasing costs, to the loss of federal money for the project, to endangered little critters like the San Bernardino kangaroo rat. On top of those problems, the city doesn't own all the land it would need to extend the road, including property where an 82-year-old former mayor has lived for 50 years. "It's not going to be a cheap proposition," said Darren Kettle, director of freeway construction for San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county transportation planning agency. Now, developers have offered to extend the road themselves, as long as the city pays part of the cost. Pepper was supposed to connect to the 210 when the freeway opened, but progress halted as the cost of extending the road kept rising. The latest estimate put the cost at more than $4million - probably closer to $5million. If Rialto can't get it built by November 2009, it will have to pay Sanbag up to $3million for a bridge the agency built so the 210 could accommodate Pepper. Pepper would have to run through a wash that is a tributary to Lytle Creek, but the engineering to deal with that landscape is simple compared with the environmental costs, Kettle said. Whoever builds the Pepper extension - whether it's the city or developers - would have to buy land for endangered species in the area at a rough cost of about $1million, Kettle said. The species could include the San Bernardino kangaroo rat, the woolly-star, a plant, and the gnatcatcher, a small bird. Rialto was originally supposed to pay for the Pepper extension with $826,000 from the federal government. Another $240,000 would have come from Colton, San Bernardino, the county and Rialto. As costs went up and the project became more complicated, the federal money was withdrawn in 2003. Under the new proposal from developers, they would extend Pepper, but Rialto would contribute $2.5million or more. The total cost could be $4million plus the cost of the habitat for the endangered species, said Bruce Cash, president and CEO of United Strategies Inc., the firm that put together the development team. "There's a huge environmental aspect to it," he said. Cash said he is confident the road will be built before the November 2009 deadline and that the design will be done in the next few months. If the developers don't end up extending Pepper, the city will, said Robb Steel, Rialto's economic development director. "Pepper Avenue is going through - no doubt," said Rialto's development services director, Mike Story. Assuming all goes well and Pepper does make it to the 210 on time, Sanbag will pay for the ramps to the freeway and will extend Pepper from the 210 to Highland Avenue. At a community meeting in June about an early version of the proposal for Pepper south of the 210, most of the approximately 120 people who showed up complained about the plan and the traffic and crime increases that could accompany extending Pepper for development. "What is it going to accomplish for the city?" former Mayor Bob Hughbanks, 82, said on Monday when asked about extending Pepper. Talk of extending the road is not new, said Hughbanks, who was mayor in the 1960s. He remembers people talking about the idea as early as 1958. "The cost of it was just prohibitive," he said outside his home, where Pepper hits the property he bought in 1958 when there were only orange groves nearby. "I was up here before anybody built anything," he said. It's no mystery why it would cost so much. Almost immediately after Pepper ends, there's a steep dropoff into an uneven wash. There's a fire in the wash almost every year, and sometimes it floods, making it difficult to build on, Hughbanks said. It's also full of the little kangaroo rats, which he said his kids used to catch and make pets out of, even putting one on a hamster wheel. When Hughbanks bought the property, it was farm lot with a boundary that ends somewhere in the middle of Pepper and goes into the wash. He's not sure what the exact boundaries are, but he said no one has contacted him or his neighbors to buy property for the extension. He would be willing to sell though, he said. Chances are good Pepper will be extended soon, Kettle said. "If we were skeptical, we probably wouldn't have proceeded with the bridge." Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com.

Californian's Burn Rubber on New Freeway

Californians Burn Rubber on New Freeway


Tuesday July 24, 2007 11:31 PM

By GILLIAN FLACCUS

Associated Press Writer

RIALTO, Calif. (AP) - The last stretch of brand-new freeway that California is likely to see for years opened Tuesday with motorists vying for position and the inevitable traffic jam.

Commuters clogged onramps to be among the first to burn rubber on State Route 210, a 7\-mile ribbon completing a freeway that over decades pushed 80 miles east from Los Angeles through foothill towns along the San Gabriel Mountains. It now ties into cities and interstates in the growing region known as the Inland Empire.

As opening time approached, Jim Gray eased his aqua green 1997 Mustang into position while reporters swarmed and news helicopters thrummed overhead. He jockeyed for position with two women in a gray SUV who weren't shy about honking, and he wound up second in line.

Suddenly, the cones were gone, and Gray floored it. Music blaring, top down, he gunned past the SUV - which had stopped for a photo opportunity - and sped onto the freeway at 70 mph.

As his car glided under the first overpass, Gray honked the horn, gave a passenger a high-five and promptly started calling friends and relatives on his cell phone.

``Dude, watch the news tonight! Turn on the TV now! I'm the first on the freeway,'' he shouted, as a huge motorcycle passed him on the left.

Gray, a truck driver for a freight company, said he arrived at the ramp early and waited an hour to get in line.

``It paid off,'' he said, as he relived his moment of motoring glory. ``It was a battle to see who was first. She was aggressive, but as soon as I saw the opening, I said, 'You go ahead and wave at the cameras. I'm going around you!'''

His back seat passenger, 20-year-old Tiana Colbert, shared his excitement.

``It was worth waking up for. Usually, I don't wake up for much,'' she said.

Officials say the freeway, conceived in 1948, will likely be one of the last brand-new freeways to open for decades in California because of funding shortfalls and a lack of places to lay new pavement.

``We can go onto freeways and we can widen and modify and add lanes, but those freeways already exist,'' said Shelli Lombardo, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. ``This is a brand-new freeway, and you're not going to see another one of those for a substantial number of years in California.''

Some people showed up two hours ahead of the opening to check out the virgin pavement.

A radio station promoted the opening all morning and played a skit featuring a grumpy and jealous Interstate 10, which lies to the south and runs parallel to the 210. It is expected to lose some traffic to the new route.

``It's outstanding,'' said Judy Roberts, 64, who showed up to watch the freeway open. ``Cars are a way of life in California - you live in your car, and this will make a lot of difference to a lot of people.''

Ken Humphrey, 44, was first to arrive at the overpass that the first cars on the freeway would later drive under. He commutes more than an hour each way from Rialto to his job in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, and he said the new freeway would shave at least 15 minutes off his daily drive, each way.

``Now I'm just three blocks from this onramp. This is excellent. We've been waiting for this for a long time,'' he said.

When a previous 20-mile stretch of 210 opened five years ago, so many drivers lined up on surface streets and onramps that the police had trouble with crowd control. The new segment, between the cities of Rialto and San Bernardino, cost $233 million to complete, bringing the freeway's total cost to about $1.2 billion over the years.

The vision for the freeway began nearly six decades ago, when officials began buying up land for a right-of-way. It moved in fits and starts, and was almost waylaid entirely over concerns it would contribute to too much sprawl, said Lombardo.

The freeway begins at Interstate 5 in northernmost Los Angeles. For most of its length it is designated Interstate 210 and is known as the Foothill Freeway, the 210 Freeway or just ``the 210.''

Before Tuesday, the only other drivers allowed on the new roadway were doing stunts for a TV show and a Hollywood film, said Shelli Lombardo, a spokeswoman for the state transportation department.

A freeway proposed for the high desert between Victor Valley and Antelope Valley is still in very early planning stages. It will be decades before it is completed, if the project even gets that far, said Cheryl Donahue, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, which was a partner on the 210 Freeway project.

``If funds can be cobbled together, it may come in the future,'' she said. ``Unfortunately, these big highway projects take many, many years to plan.''

Route 210 Freeway Will Open to Drivers on July 24, See Video Highlights of Preview Event.... (Fontana Harald)

Route 210 Freeway will open to drivers on July 24; see video highlights of preview event

By FONTANA HERALD NEWS

The time has finally arrived. The completed extension of the State Route 210 Freeway will open to drivers on Tuesday, July 24 at 10 a.m.

The new section of freeway will extend from Alder Avenue in Rialto (just east of Fontana) to the connection with State Route 30 in San Bernardino.

(A preview event was held in June in anticipation of the long-awaited opening of the freeway; for video highlights, visit www.youtube.com and search for "Play on the 210 Freeway.")

San Bernardino Associated Governments and the California Department of Transportation will open the final 7.25 miles of Route 210 to drivers through Rialto and San Bernardino.

Construction has been underway on Route 210 since mid-2003, following the opening of the first 20-mile section of freeway in November 2002 between La Verne and Fontana. Costs for this last section through Rialto and San Bernardino total approximately $233 million.

The freeway will include three travel lanes and a carpool lane in each direction and will feature on-ramps and off-ramps at Alder Avenue, Ayala Drive and Riverside Avenue in Rialto, as well as State Street in San Bernardino. Once the City of Rialto extends Pepper Avenue north to the freeway, on-ramps and off-ramps will be built at Pepper.

Work will continue under the current construction contract for several months after the freeway opens next week.

Flyover ramps to connect eastbound Route 210 to southbound Interstate 215 and northbound Interstate 215 to westbound Route 210 will be built in the future. Until the flyover ramps are built, drivers needing to make these freeway transitions are encouraged to follow the established detour between State Street and Interstate 215.

Eastbound 210 drivers wishing to connect to southbound I-215 should exit State Street, travel east on 20th Street, north on California Street, east on Highland Avenue and north on Mt. Vernon to reach Interstate 215. Trucks should exit State Street, travel east on 20th Street, north on California Street and proceed east on Highland Avenue to reach Interstate 215. Northbound Interstate 215 travelers wishing to connect to westbound Route 210 should use the above detour in reverse.

I-210 Is Going To Be OPEN on Tuesday, July 24, 2007

We at the BS RANCH have SUPER GOOD Information that the I-210 Freeway will be opening up it's final streach on Tuesday JULY 24th, 2007.

Please Drive CAREFULLY on the new I-210 Freeway, and watch for me speeding along having a great time cruse back and forth, looking for all the Businesses that they promised would be opened when the FREEWAY WAS DONE!!

BS Ranch

I-210 Extention will open this month (Daily Press 071807) I beleive that it will be open by July 20th or July 27th, we will see.

I-210 extension will open this month

HILLARY BORRUD

SAN BERNARDINO — The final 7.25 miles of Interstate 210 will open by the end the month and will eventually carry 163,000 vehicles per day, according to San Bernardino County's regional transportation planning agency.

The Foothill Freeway will provide a new east-west corridor through lower San Bernardino County and will divert some traffic from Interstate 10, where heavy congestion is common in the mornings and evenings, said Annette Franco, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments or SANBAG.

Truck traffic could also be partially diverted from I-10 onto I-210.

A section of I-210 that opened in Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga in 2001 did alleviate some congestion on I-10, said spokeswoman Cheryl Donahue.

Traffic simulation models completed for SANBAG have shown that traffic will decrease in some areas and increase in others, Franco said.

The most dramatic drop in traffic is projected for I-10 between Interstate 15 and Interstate 215, where it could drop about 5 to15 percent.

Traffic is projected to increase by 20 to 25 percent on I-210 east of I-215, which is currently Highway 30, and it could also increase by 20 percent on I-215 between I-10 and I-210, according to SANBAG.

The I-15 north of I-210 could also experience a slight increase in traffic.

SANBAG expects to announce a July opening date for the final stretch of Interstate 210 later this week, Donahue said.

Work on this last portion of the Foothill Freeway through Rialto and San Bernardino began in 2003 and the freeway was expected to open by late 2007, according to SANBAG.

Miscellaneous work such as fencing and storm drain projects will continue for about three to four months after the Foothill Freeway opens, Donahue said. The estimated cost of this last stretch of freeway is $232.8 million, Franco said.

The freeway through Rialto and San Bernardino will have three regular lanes and one carpool lane in each direction. On and off-ramps will be at Alder Avenue, Ayala Drive, Riverside Avenue and State Street, according to SANBAG.

On and off-ramps at Pepper Avenue will be completed later, after local road construction has been completed, Donahue said.

Hillary Borrud may be reached at 951-6234 or hborrud@vvdailypress.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective

 

Just another news paper, (The Daily Press) That says the the Freeway will be open this month, and not late Aug. I am thinking that the freeway will be open Tursday 072007, or a week later, 072707, we will see..

 

BS Ranch

The Finishing Touches!! (San Bernaridno Sun July 15, 2007) Predictions all indicate that the Freeway will be open on the 20'th or the 27th

The finishing touches

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 07/15/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

Photo Gallery: Polishing Up The 210

Are we there yet?

Almost, according to officials with San Bernardino Associated Governments.

The last leg of the 210 Freeway extension is expected to open by the end of the month, linking the 210 to the 215 and 30 freeways at last.

But first, the final flourishes must be dabbed on the canvas.

Or, rather, stripes must be painted on the pavement.

That means that part of the freeway that's open - a stretch between Citrus Avenue in Fontana and Alder Avenue in Rialto - must be closed so workers can paint new lane markings.

The

Emilio Guillan of Atkinson Construction washes away skid marks from the westbound lanes of the 210 Freeway near Riverside Avenue in Rialto on Saturday. Workers removed old signs, painted white stripes and cleaned portions of the nearly completed freeway expected to open by August. (Gabriel Luis Acosta/Staff Photographer)

closure began at 9 p.m. Friday and will last until 2 a.m. Monday.

Sanbag project manager Jim Beers noted that the heavy-duty work on the freeway extension has wrapped up and basically all that's left on the freeway's to-do list are lane markings, guard rails, road signs and other trimmings.

"We're eager to get it open, believe me," Beers said.

The new stretch of the 210 will connect with the 30. Once all the roadblocks are removed, drivers will have a direct route from Redlandis to Pasadena to the north San Fernando Valley.

The 210 extension will have interchanges at Alder Avenue, Ayala Drive, Riverside Avenue and State Street.

___________________________________________________________________________________

BS Ranch Perspective

Beers said, that they are eager to open the Freeway to the public, However there was a "Rumor" in another Paper, on an earlier date that they were thinking about opening it on Thursday!! That would make it July, 20th, 2007...I would say that would be great, and super to boot, they want to open it up at the end of this month, and it would be great if they could open it up by the end of this month and not the end of next month!!

BS Ranch

 

Event Draws a Crowd to 210 (SB Sun 062407)

Event draws crowd to 210

Freeway section hosts activities

By George Watson, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 06/24/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT

RIALTO - With both of his tiny hands clenched around the steering wheel, Isaac Ruiz found himself buzzing along the freeway.

It was the typical stuff found on Southern California highways: rude drivers weaving to and from, changing lanes without using their signals, and driving inappropriately slow in the faster lanes.

Suddenly, traffic slammed to a halt. He threw his hands up in frustration.

"I was like, `errrarrrrrrrggghhhhhh!"' he said. "Keep it going! Get it going! Get it going now!"

And just like that, the 210 Freeway extension gave birth to its first traffic jam.

Of course, Isaac is 6 years old and was driving a go-cart around a course made of plastic during Saturday's Play on the 210 Freeway event, which was attended by thousands to celebrate the unofficial opening of the east-west artery expected to be an economic boon and a savior for drivers. When power was lost to the machine pumping air into the inflatable course, two large pieces fell to the pristine pavement and blocked the way.

Isaac's father, Carlos Ruiz, said his son and daughter, Naomi, 3, were just enthused to check out the roadway, actually slated to open Aug. 31.

"They've been waiting for weeks, saying, `We

get to play on the freeway!"' said Ruiz, 35, of San Bernardino. "I told them it was the only time I could say to them, `Go play on the freeway."'

Sean McGee, 7, of San Bernardino, who sang with the Taft T. Newman Children's Choir at the morning ribbon-cutting ceremony, knew he was violating his mother's cardinal rule of "don't go on the street, or you'll get run over," he said. But this time, he had permission.

During any other time, he said, "I'd be grounded."

Lee Burns, 12, of San Bernardino found the pavement to be perfect for skateboarding.

"It's good," he said. "It's not too rough. It's not too hard. It's cool. But it's hot."

In addition to skateboarding and little motorized cars, kids and adults alike could listen to live music, browse through the dozens of booths hawking food and goods, lug their way up a climbing wall, partake in road races or check out some of the classic cars on hand.

Keegan Holden, 31, of Rialto was there displaying his candy-apple red '65 Lincoln Continental for the first time.

But he was just as interested in getting a glimpse of the freeway that will help out his installation business, K's Garage Doors.

"This freeway is going to give me a lot more time to do business," he said.

That was a focal point at the ceremony held to celebrate the freeway and dedicate the roadway to the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr., California's longest tenured congressman.

"The future of this area, as I have said many times, is going to skyrocket," said Josie Gonzales, the San Bernardino County supervisor whose district includes the freeway extension. "Everything you see here, take a look, it will be different."

Speaker after speaker also lauded Brown, a Democrat from San Bernardino, as a visionary leader.

"George would be humbled by the recognition," said his widow, Marta Macias Brown.

And while Brown might have claimed he didn't deserve it, as his widow said, the dignitaries all insisted that the famed congressman, one of the first to oppose the Vietnam War, did indeed deserve the honor.

Opening Day

RIALTO -It was the question on everyone's mind Saturday: When will the 210 Freeway extension open?

As elected leaders and other dignitaries gathered in Rialto to celebrate the near-opening of the east-west freeway, even San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris pressed transportation officials for not only a date, but, with his tongue placed only somewhat in cheek, the exact moment.

"It will be open by the time school starts," Tony Grasso, SANBAG's executive director, said to an enthused crowd.

But when Darren Kettle, director of freeway construction for the county transportation authority, was cornered later in the day, he gave a far firmer answer: "We are saying Aug. 31. If not a little earlier."

Completion of the freeway will provide another direct link between San Bernardino and Los Angeles County.

- George Watson

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BS Ranch Perspective

It is my belief that if they are going to have a party then why will they not open the rest of the freeway, the lines are drawn, most if not all the on/off ramps are in repair and ready for use, but they say by the time that school starts, yet they have a party now and get everyone excited about the party now. I for one don't understand, the freeway is done for them to break out the cake and Ice cream.

BS Ranch

San Bernardino Associated Governments Host Festival on 210 Freeway Before it Opens.

San Bernardino Associated Governments hosts festival on 210 freeway before it opens

		Download story podcast

11:02 AM PDT on Sunday, June 24, 2007

By CHRIS RICHARD
The Press-Enterprise

Video: Cyclists and skateboarders play on the I-215

As traffic jams go, this was one of a kind.

No bumper-to-bumper, no exhaust haze, no white-knuckled drivers, no blaring horns.

Just a leisurely crowd milling around vintage cars and rows of brightly colored fair pavilions.

And, at one edge of the throng, a knot of government officials, many in shorts or khakis, with a bright red ribbon and an oversized pair of scissors.

The occasion was "Come Play on the Freeway: the Finale," a festival sponsored by the San Bernardino Associated Governments on Saturday to celebrate the pending completion of Interstate 210 in Rialto and San Bernardino.

SANBAG spokeswoman Cheryl Donahue estimated the crowd at about 20,000.

"I thought it was important to be here," said Delores King, of Fontana, pausing as she strolled down the No. 1 lane just west of the State Street offramp.

A few feet away, King's 5-week-old granddaughter, Jaelnn Dixon, snoozed in a frilly pink stroller.

Caltrans spokeswoman Rose Melgoza said officials hope to open the roadway in September, just in time for King's fall semester at Valley College, where she is studying nursing.

King said being able to drive the 210 will cut her commuting time in half.

"I can't wait to use this freeway," she said. "Someday, I'll remind Jaelnn that she was here today."

Completion of what is known as the Foothill Freeway comes 10 years after SANBAG broke ground. The first six miles of the route, from Rancho Cucamonga to Fontana, opened in 2001.

Story continues below

Amanda Lucidon / The Press-Enterprise

Gabriel Perez, 5, and other children ride bumper cars at the San Bernardino Associated Governments' freeway celebration.

Another segment, 14 miles between La Verne and Rancho Cucamonga, was added a year later.

In 2005, a two-mile stretch from Fontana to Rialto opened, leaving only the section between Rialto and San Bernardino.

The completed freeway will span 28.2 miles from La Verne to San Bernardino, where it will connect to Highway 30. Highway 30 will become part of the 210, completing the connection to Interstate 10 in Redlands.

Speaking at Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, San Bernardino City Councilman Rikke Van Johnson predicted that the freeway will help loosen the economic chokehold imposed on his Westside ward by Interstate 215.

That freeway, completed in 1959, split San Bernardino from north to south. Its offramps were built to direct traffic to the east, away from the Westside and toward downtown San Bernardino.

"We've waited a lifetime for this freeway to right some wrongs that were done with the 215," Johnson said.

He predicted that the State Street offramp, the first freeway access to his ward in almost 50 years, will bring a surge in development.

To highlight the transformation, San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris showed off an artist's renderings of historic scenes that will be included in a mural on a Union Pacific bridge spanning the roadway.

He said muralist Edward Perez and a work crew were up until 2 a.m. Saturday, laying down primer over the graffiti that had scarred the bridge.

Perez and students from five San Bernardino high schools will paint the mural within the next five weeks, Morris said.

Reach Chris Richard at 909-806-3076 or crichard@PE.com

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BS Ranch Perspective

I feel that the "Festival" was nice, and there was a great turn out, however I hope that they understand that the people of the festival and myself are expecting that the Freeway is within a week from opening. I do not believe that the people that put this 'Festival' on are not and do not have any clue as to when the freeway will open, however I hope that it opens soon, the traffic by my house and the people that live off Riverside between Cactus and Riverside on Easton Ave know that there are a whole lot of cars that speed by there once peaceful street! Riverside Ave used to be at least 36% quieter then what it is now, with all the added Detoured traffic. It sucks. I cannot wait for the new Freeway to open. I bet that the Traffic on Riverside Ave will drop over 50%!!
BS Ranch

Cracks in 210 Planning Lead to Shaky Finish (SB Sun, May 28, 2007).

Cracks in 210 planning lead to shaky finishArticle

Launched:05/28/2007 07:41:47 PM PDT

Somehow, a major interstate that has been on the drawing board for 60 years now won't be really finished when it's finished, according to San Bernardino County's transportation agency. Come to find out, when the 210 Freeway fully opens later this year, and the extension to Highway 30 in San Bernardino is finally finished (at a still undetermined date), access to and from another major artery running through the region will be severely limited - making the 210 less than the lifesaver for commuters it should have been. But don't fret. San Bernardino Associated Governments, or Sanbag, reassures the public that the opening of the long-awaited interstate won't be delayed. You can count on that. It's just that two major connectors between I-210 and Interstate 215, which would have stood to make the lives of motorists that much easier because of uninterrupted travel, won't be ready for yet another 3<MD+,%30,%55,%70>1/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>2 to four years. A geologist who was working in the area after the contract to build the freeway was awarded back in late 1999 or early 2000 just happened to notice a major problem that could, er, radically shake up freeway construction plans. Seems two presumably well-known earthquake faults, the San Andreas and San Jacinto, which have been in existence since long before the freeway was a sparkle in some engineer's eyes, might someday pose the danger of a fault rupture to any large piece of concrete in their vicinity. "If the geologist hadn't seen it," said Sanbag's director of freeway construction, Darren Kettle, "(the freeway) might have been built like that." So now, the agency has set about redesigning the elevated "flyovers" to compensate. Thank heaven for accidents of mercy. But we would have thought that that, er, connection would have been made before then. "The San Andreas Fault and San Jacinto Fault being so close to the freeway and the nature of the soils means those elevated columns would need to be designed to withstand the seismic problem that could be produced by those two faults," Kettle said. Such major brainstorms can be awesome, when they come with the requisite amount of foresight. But in this case, it's more like shock, and after-shock. While we're glad that extra precautions are being taken now that the potential danger has been noted, how is it that no one took into account the existence of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults long before now - at least, in time to mitigate for the 210's final grand opening? As it is, when the 210 officially opens later this fall, it will not be possible to go directly from the 210 east to the 215 Freeway south, nor will it be possible to go from the northbound 215 to the westbound 210. Get ready for the delays. --------------------------------------------------------- BS Ranch Perspective: You know this whole thing about the bridges cracking is something that PISSES ME OFF!!!!!! I believe that this shabby construction was done on purpose to make it so that the construction company could have the freeway open on time, and get any bonuses that would be due to them for the Freeway opening on time, However they didn't this Hap Hazard Job, Making so that they could say......OOOOPS!!! WE are going to need more money to fix the problem!!! It is either that or!! YOU HAVE YOUR MEN COME IN, the middle of the middle of the RUSH HOUR, CLOSING DOWN LANES TO FIX WHAT YOU DIDN'T DO RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!! Of coarse the fix is not as good as the if it was put up right the first place!! Collecting the money for the same job twice, I like this!! great! BS Ranch