Metro's project team detailed proposed construction alternatives for freeway at recent community meeting

Local residents had a chance to provide their input on a 710 Freeway project last week during a community meeting at the Expo Arts Center that would determine how commutes to and from places in Long Beach could be changed when construction potentially begins in 2020.
On Oct. 19, Metro’s I-710 Project Team presented information on the I-710 Corridor Project, a proposal that is exploring improvements to the 710 Freeway through widening the existing freeway and addressing aging infrastructure and traffic congestion— specifically as it relates to growths in population, economic activity and shipment of goods.
Moreover, the project seeks to improve public health due to the concern of air quality as a result of diesel-particulate emissions and high accident rates in that area.

The study area for the project covers most of the I-710, from Long Beach to State Route 60 in east Los Angeles— about 19 miles, according to Rob McCann, principal of consulting firm LSA and who is part of the project.
Long Beach councilmembers Roberto Uranga, Al Austin and Rex Richardson hosted the event.
The I-710 Project Team was gathering public input at the meeting to assist in outlining and finalizing a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this week. The report is a document, required under California law, that evaluates the potential impacts proposed projects may have on people and the environment.
The current timetable will have the Metro team draft the EIR by the end of fall and then finalize it completely and approve the project for winter 2018.
At the meeting, two alternatives to 710 Freeway upgrades were introduced— labeled “5C” and “7,” respectively.
The objective of Project Alternative 5C, which is projected to cost about $6.5 billion, is to modernize the 710 Freeway to add capacity— which would mean lane widening. It would also increase traffic safety and provide operational improvements.
In a graph showcased at the meeting (pictured below), the green lines for Alternative 5C represent new or widened general-purpose lanes.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Screen-Shot-2017-10-27-at-9.19.04-AM.png” credit=”Courtesy Metro” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”These two graphs illustrate two options for the I-710 Corridor Project— a study that is looking into efficient alternatives to expand and improve the I-710. Alternative 5C (top) prioritizes the widening of general-purpose lanes and Alternative 7 (bottom) emphasizes a new “clean emission” freight corridor. ” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”] The red lines illustrate the interchange between the I-710 and I-405, where dedicated bypass lanes will be implemented to allow trucks to merge smoothly.
The light-blue lines represent modifications of freeway interchanges and auxiliary lanes— roads that enter the freeway and then immediately exit.
“It’s not a through lane,” McCann said, “but it helps improve the safety of the merging as people are trying to get on or get off the freeway.”
There are also plans for a future bike trail along a nearby levee.
Project Alternative 7, projected to cost about $11 billion, aims to also modernize the 710 Freeway, although it doesn’t feature the addition of new lanes. Instead, the alternative would add a “clean emission” freight corridor, dedicated to the use of near-zero-emission and zero-emission trucks— separated from regular traffic on the freeway.
In the graph, Alternative 7 has a similar layout to Alternative 5C, but there is less emphasis on the green, which represents general-purpose lanes. The red lines show the path from south of Long Beach to Commerce, which illustrates the zero-emission freight corridor.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”400px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Screen-Shot-2017-10-27-at-9.19.12-AM-1.png” credit=”Courtesy Metro” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”] Blue lines on the graph show miscellaneous improvements to various interchanges. The plan also factors in a bike trail along the levee.
There are different design options for both alternatives. More information about the project can be found on Metro’s website at metro.net/projects/i-710-corridor-project.
Both alternatives also include program elements aimed at addressing the aforementioned problem of air quality and mobility within the operating area of the freeway.
The main initiatives of both outlines also prioritize implementing community health and benefit programs, utilizing advanced technologies and transportation systems, setting up congestion-relief programs for intersections and local arterials to complement improvements to the freeway, transit improvements and creating bicycle and pedestrian facilities and connections.
McCann said some of the programs are not “fully fleshed out yet.”
He also brought up a third alternative, Alternative 1, which examines the outlook of the I-710 if no improvements are made.
One local resident inquired if any properties would be impacted during the construction process for either Alternative 5C or 7.
“There are relocations required in both alternatives,” said Ernesto Chaves, senior director of Metro’s Highway Program. “Alternative 7 has a much bigger footprint.”
McCann said, under 5C, the project calls for the relocation of 25 residential properties and 30 businesses in Long Beach. He said that, under Alternative 7, there are about 30 to 35 residential properties and 35 businesses that would be relocated.
Another resident asked about transit improvements, specifically to the Metro Blue Line, and suggested that the plan’s goal of alleviating I-710 traffic could be bolstered by addressing public transportation.

Sharon Weissman, board deputy to Mayor Robert Garcia’s Metro Board Office, said Garcia’s main goals in joining the Metro board were to improve the I-710 and the Metro Blue Line— which is in the process of a $1.2-billion upgrade, according to Weissman.
She said Metro is replacing the Blue Line’s trains at a rate of about four trains per month and refurbishing modernized ones. The replacement is projected to be finished in January 2019.
The City of Long Beach is also looking into giving the Metro rail prioritized access as it goes through intersections, which Weissman said could shave about six to 10 minutes of commute time. She was hopeful that improvement could be done by the first quarter of 2018.
“We’re just making a number of improvements to the Blue Line to make it more reliable,” Weissman said.