I Can Finally Relax About My Evening Commute

From today's Ventura County Star article 101 Bridge Work 91% Complete (registration required)...

"Drivers frustrated by the closure of the ramp to northbound 101 from Oxnard Boulevard shouldn't expect it to open until the project is finished because it doesn't meet Caltrans' specifications, said Jason Samonte, traffic engineer for the city of Oxnard.

'The ramp is done,' he said.

But something was overlooked in the design. The problem, he said, 'is that until you have the middle bridge completed there's not enough room for a merge lane so that's why it can't be opened yet.'"

I limp by that stupid, closed on-ramp every single day on my way home from work and think to myself that there is only one way for the traffic leading to the Santa Clara River Bridge to get worse: open that on-ramp. I always expect to turn on KCLU and hear that traffic is backed up to Calabasas because they opened the on-ramp and - surprise, surprise - somebody didn't bother to yield and now four cars are wedged tight between the retaining walls of the bridge.

So reading this is a huge relief. I still think it's a crummy location for an on-ramp but at least CalTrans has done something right by putting the kibosh on that ramp. Way to finally exceed admittedly low expectations CalTrans!