The California Department of Transportation has been studying how to rework the interchange for years. But a final decision is near, with public comments due by Wednesday on a 288-page environmental assessment that analyzes four options, including doing nothing. The agency plans to choose by the end of June.
The existing single-lane connector ramp requires drivers to weave in and out of lanes to access various roads. All three proposals call for replacing that interchange with a two-lane overpass designed to increase traffic speeds from 20 to 50 mph. That bridge would be built over a spillway that's part of the Sepulveda Dam.
One of the proposals would eliminate access to the Ventura Freeway from Burbank Boulevard and wouldn't require construction on the wildlife reserve. The other two call for restructuring access to both freeways from Burbank Boulevard by building a looped ramp on several acres in the reserve's southeast corner. The proposals range in price from $86 million to $117 million. Funding hasn't been approved.
Caltrans studies suggest construction would not cause long-term damage to the wildlife reserve.
"Although there may be temporary disruptions or impacts during the construction phase, there are not anticipated to be any permanent direct or indirect impacts to these species resulting from this project," Caltrans analysts wrote.
Environmentalists disagree, saying increased noise from a new ramp in the reserve would disturb sensitive birds and could diminish the habitat's draw for birders who routinely record the comings and goings of many species and for students who travel to the dam to learn about nature.
"The big problem is the cumulative loss of acreage," said Kimball Garrett, ornithology collections manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
"There's very good data that show as you whittle away the acreage of habitat, it becomes able to support a lot less wildlife," Garrett said.
An official at the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, which manages the Sepulveda Basin, said he was concerned about the project.
"Many volunteers, the city and the U.S. Army Corps have worked for many years to develop the wildlife area," said Kevin Regan, the department's assistant general manager. "It would be a difficult thing to have any damage, or destruction, or loss of that open space."
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jennifer.oldham@latimes.com
