Connector’s Completion a Boon to Local Business

The scheduled March 27 opening of the final section of the Cross Valley Connector in Santa Clarita will reduce commute times for workers, facilitate access to shopping centers and make the transportation of goods easier, according to business and city officials. The link joins the 5 and the 14 freeways on the east and the 5 freeway and Rte. 126 on the west. The project, which Santa Clarita began ten years ago, has been planned since 1968, according to Mayor Laurene Weste. The city planned an alternative east-west road that would help alleviate the traffic from Soledad Canyon Road and the freeway. Weste said prior to the connector’s completion, if anything happened on the freeway, surface streets would become clogged. According to Gail Ortiz, Communication Manager for the city, the project has been completed in phases because of funding issues. In addition to city money, other funding came from the federal government, Metro and Caltrans. Santa Clarita raised the $21 million for the bridge over the Santa Clara River and then was scheduled to host a ribbon cutting to commemorate the completion of the 8.5 mile connector March 27. Helping businesses According to Ortiz, the connector will be a boon for employers. She said 1,000 companies and 50,000 jobs will be impacted by the connector. “Commute times will be reduced,” Ortiz said. “Every major accident stops commerce in Santa Clarita (without the connector),” President and CEO of the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce Larry Mankin said “The connector will move cars and trucks in an orderly manner.” Lori Wallace, area manager of Rattler’s a rib restaurant in Center Pointe plaza, said many of her employees will get to work faster. Earl Bayless, president of Bayless Engineering, said that the commute time will be quicker for a number of Santa Clarita workers from the San Fernando Valley and Palmdale and Lancaster. Bayless said 30 to 40 of his 100 employees come from those areas. Mankin said retail centers such as River Plaza and Center Pointe are expected to see a boost in business, Mankin said. “We’re excited because traffic gets so backed up,” Wallace said. “What used to take 15 to 20 minutes will now take 5 minutes. It will create much better access to our restaurant.” Aside from access, transportation of goods for manufacturers and trucking companies will be impacted positively. No weight limits According to Kenneth Striplin, assistant city manager, there are no weight limits for the connector, which means 18-wheel trucks can also drive on it. However, Weste believes the freight companies will probably not make use of the freeway because it is out of their way. But according to Mike Liu, President of Knight Transportation Dry Van, whose trucks drive on the 5 freeway, the connector could relieve congestion on that road. For Rattler’s, Wallace says the introduction of the connector will help their catering service and increase speed of delivery for supplies for the restaurant. President and CEO Barry Gump of Andy Gump, a temporary site service company, has 35 small and medium-sized trucks traveling throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. “We need all the help we can get,” Gump said of the building of the connector. “If our men can’t move because of traffic gridlock they can’t get the job done.” Bayless’ company uses medium-sized trucks to transport small metal parts to a plating facility in the San Fernando Valley. Bayless says the 5 has a lot of accidents. “It will allow for a little bit of economic impact and little bit of convenience,” Bayless said of the connector. Weste said a bike route has been built parallel to the connector that links up to other bike routes in the city and to the Metrolink. According to Weste, this could help decrease traffic in Santa Clarita by allowing people to use bicycles more often.