Remedies underway

This type of conversation with Caltrans is something the city has been wanting for quite a long time.

“We would love to have a dialogue with Caltrans,” Zandvliet said.

Zandvliet, Mayor Laura Olhasso and Councilmember Steve Del Guercio have all said that meetings with Caltrans have been difficult at best.

Del Guercio said it was extremely difficult working with Caltrans, either through the studies or permitting process. And Caltrans’ contention that they did not have the authority to stop big rigs from traveling the ’Crest or from simply repairing the arrester beds that are still in the median seems a thin excuse.

Failing said that his boss, Will Kempton, Caltrans’ state director, had received authority to temporarily restrict five axle trucks on the ANF and ’Crest highways but that permanent restrictions would have to go through the state Legislature.

Zandvliet questions that excuse for not putting the signs up.

“I would think that Caltrans would do a study then go to the California Transportation Commission with the findings,” Zandvliet said.

If Caltrans found there was cause to restrict traffic and advised the Commission, that should be sufficient, Zandvliet said. This process could also be used with making the present arrester beds usable, he said.

“That’s what we did when we wanted a [signal] at Starlight Crest,” Zandvliet said.

In the 1980s signs that marked the arrester beds were taken down. Neither Zandvliet nor Failing know why the signs were gone and why plants in the beds were allowed to overgrow.

Zandvliet would like to see those arrester beds up and working again.

“We can still make it look nice and [functional],” he said. “There can be signs for [runaway truck and cars]. We would also need new sand in there, the gravel is now so compacted.”

Zandvliet said even if the beds would not stop a big rig they would be useful to stop smaller vehicles. A car without brakes could still do a lot of damage as it goes down the ’Crest.

“That’s a good point,” Failing said, when a reporter pointed that out.

For now the signs restricting five axle trucks are in place for 90 days while legislation to make it permanent is being presented by Assembly Member Anthony Portantino and state Sen. Carol Liu. The Los Angeles County supervisors agreed on Tuesday to ask state lawmakers to ban big rig traffic on the ’Crest. Congressman David Dreier visited Olhasso on Friday to discuss what he could do on a federal level to help prevent this from happening again. They discussed a highway restriction warning on global positioning systems. It has yet to be determined if Costa had received direction via GPS, but the truck driver in September had. With all the national and local attention being paid to the issue perhaps Caltrans and the city will continue a useful dialogue on the issue.

“I hope so,” Zandvliet said.