Last month saw milestones on two major road and highway projects at opposite ends of the county.

Construction began last month on a $130 million project to reconfigure a major interchange in San Pedro near the Port of Los Angeles. Specifically, the project, jointly overseen by the Port of Los Angeles and the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, tackles the interchange at State Route 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard, both in San Pedro.

At the north end of the county, Los Angeles County officials announced a $250 million improvement project for the Old Road that runs immediately parallel to the Interstate 5 Freeway near Stevenson Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The San Pedro interchange project is designed to reduce the interactions between freight trucks coming into and out of the Port of Los Angeles and other vehicles.

“We have all experienced a significant increase in trucks interfacing with passenger vehicles at the Harbor Blvd./SR47 Interchange, which is both difficult and dangerous as we work to move cargo and as residents go about their daily commute,” Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker said in the announcement.

The project will completely replace one of the ramps at the existing interchange, realign another ramp and modify two additional ramps. 

The ramp to be replaced is an off-ramp from the Vincent Thomas Bridge portion of State Route 47; that structure currently sits on the south side of the interchange. The new ramp will be built on the north side.

The ramp to be realigned serves as the onramp to the northbound connector to the nearby 110 Freeway. 

In addition to the ramp changes, Front Street and Harbor Boulevard will be upgraded to feature new curbs, storm-drain improvements, street lighting, traffic signal updates, bike lanes, curb ramps and crosswalks.

“This interchange project will greatly enhance traffic safety for our communities while improving port efficiencies and traffic flow,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in the announcement.

The port will be contributing at least $57 million toward the project. Another $49.3 million is coming from Metro Measure R; $13.4 million from the state’s Trade Corridor Enhancement Program; and $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Port Infrastructure Development Program.

Skanska USA, a subsidiary of Stockholm, Sweden-based Skanska, has been selected as the prime contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2026.

As for the Old Road project in the Santa Clarita Valley, it targets the stretch of road along the unincorporated communities by Stevenson Ranch – from Magic Mountain Parkway to Henry Mayo Drive.

The project would reconstruct and widen portions of the Old Road to six lanes and add a protected bicycle lane in each direction. It would also replace two bridges. One of those bridges that traverses the Santa Clara River is currently classified as structurally deficient by the Federal Highway Administration for seismic, flood, and highway design.

A draft environmental impact report for the Old Road improvement project was released last month, kicking off a months-long approval process. County officials said they hope to break ground by the end of this year; no completion date was announced.

“It has taken six years to get to this point and there are still important milestones ahead – including obtaining an environmental clearance – but we’re getting closer,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in the county’s announcement.