It was an amazingly gratifying milestone:

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2 From the Executive Director So Many Thank-Yous, So Little Time! By Victor Lindenheim Executive Director, Golden State Gateway Coalition It was an amazingly gratifying milestone: In December, together with our partners at Caltrans and Metro, along with numerous local, regional and state leaders, we celebrated the opening of the much-anticipated Phase 1 truck lanes of the I-5 North Los Angeles County Improvement Project. I was honored to be invited to speak at the ribbon cutting ceremony and, as you can see in the photo, to take a turn at cutting the ceremonial ribbon. There are so many people to thank for the success of this project to date, and with that in mind I d like to share with you a copy of my remarks from the ceremony: Good morning, and thank you for being here. For those of you who were at the groundbreaking for this important project, welcome back. Highway capacity in Southern California is a finite and precious resource. Today we celebrate the fact that, working together, we have been able to create more of it. And now, I have two minutes to speak and 20 minutes worth of people to thank. It takes a lot to get a project like this done. It takes Caltrans to design it and its contractor, Flatiron, and their construction crews, to build it. The project required community support, political will and funding to get it done. Our partners Caltrans, Metro, and the federal government all played their parts in our success. Gateway Coalition representatives were honored to take a turn at cutting the ribbon. From left: Gateway Coalition consultant Tony Harris, Executive Director Victor Lindenheim, Michael Cano, transportation deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, and Gateway Coalition consultant Arthur Sohikian. Photo by Tim Whyte Victor Lindenheim Thank you to the more than 60 diverse public and private sector organization members and individual members of the Golden State Gateway Coalition. Thanks to the California Highway Patrol, the Automobile Club, Chiquita Canyon Landfill, Southern California Edison, Valley Industry Association, Valley Industry and Commerce Association, the SCV Chamber of Commerce, Building Industry Association, the SCV Economic Development Corp., College of the Canyons and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, among others, for their support. Thanks to the Gateway Coalition board members, and our Chairman Tom DiPrima for their leadership, commitment and dedication to getting this project done. And, thanks to our team of consultants pointc, AVS Consulting, Kimley-Horn & Associates, Psomas, LSA and the leadership, hard work and sound guidance provided by Tony Harris, Arthur Sohikian and Tim Whyte. Special thanks to our retiring Congressman, Buck McKeon, who secured our first, and subsequent, federal grants for the I-5 north improvements you see here today, and put the project on the US- See LINDENHEIM, page 6 Highway capacity in Southern California is a finite and precious resource. Today we celebrate the fact that, working together, we have been able to create more of it. Page 2 INTERCHANGE, Winter 2015

3 The Golden State Gateway Coalition proudly joined city, county, state and federal officials as Caltrans and Metro celebrated the opening of the new lanes on Interstate 5. Participating in the official ribbon cutting were, from left: Lindy Lee, Deputy CEO of Metro; CHP Cmdr. Ed Krusey; Metro Board Member Ara Najarian; Christopher Newman of the Federal Highway Administration; Shirley Choate, Deputy Director of Caltrans District 7; Santa Clarita Councilwomen Laurene Weste and Marsha McLean; Assemblyman Scott Wilk; Michael Cano, Transportation Deputy to Supervisor Michael Antonovich; and, Gateway Coalition Executive Director Victor Lindenheim. Photo by Thomas Ritter/Caltrans. Now Open: Truck Lanes! By Tim Whyte Interchange Editor It was the biggest milestone yet for the Interstate 5 North Los Angeles County Improvement Project: Dozens of dignitaries, Caltrans and L.A. Metro staffers, and supporters of the project gathered in December to celebrate the opening of the highly anticipated Phase 1 of the I-5 project: New truck and mixed-flow lanes between Pico Canyon Road/Lyons Avenue and the I-5 interchange with State Route 14. The $67 million project, completed under budget from a combination of state, federal and county funds, extended the truck lane on the southbound side and added a mixed-flow lane to the outside of the freeway in both directions giving car traffic and truck traffic vastly improved ability to separate from each other, improving traffic flow and safety. See OPEN, page 4 Page 3

4 Dozens of federal, state, county and local officials attended the ribbon cutting. Representatives of Caltrans and Flatiron, the project contractor, were among the groups that posed for ribbon cutting photos. Top right photo by Thomas Ritter/Caltrans Open Continued from page 3 The construction traversing 1.4 miles on the northbound side and 3.7 miles on the southbound side took two and a half years to complete but was nearly a decade in the making. Phase 2 of the project, still in the planning stages, calls for the addition of high occupancy vehicle or carpool lanes along the same crucial stretch of I-5. Shirley Choate, deputy director of Caltrans District 7, hosted the December ribbon cutting ceremony at the local Caltrans field office, and hailed the project as an important investment in preparing this stretch of I-5 to handle traffic volumes that are expected to double in the decades ahead. Wherever we have trucks and cars sharing space on a grade, it can be a recipe for congestion, unless we give the cars and trucks more lanes to use and get them out of each other s way, Choate said. That s exactly what this $67 million project has done. Assemblyman Scott Wilk noted that Connie Worden-Roberts, a longtime local transportation activist who passed away in 2014, would have been proud to see the debut of the truck lanes. Wilk added that the I-5, which literally runs from BC to BC as in, Baja California to British Columbia is a vital regional and national artery for transportation and goods movement. This project is incredibly important for commerce, and for quality of life, Wilk added. Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste, who served as mayor in 2014, noted that the I-5 Gateway s importance to Southern California transportation dates back to the frontier days, when Beale s Cut provided a vital route through the Newhall Pass to Los Angeles. We are so excited to have this done and we look foward to partnering with Caltrans and the Coalition in the future, Weste said. Christopher Newman, the region s project delivery team leader for the Federal Highway Administration, called the project a solid investment of state and federal transportation dollars. Congestion along this major route can affect the quality of life for motorists and the very strength of our economy, Newman said. The project will provide welcome relief to congestion and enhanced safety along the corridor. Metro board member Ara Najarian praised the Gateway Coalition and Executive Director Victor Lindenheim, the City of Santa Clarita and Supervisor Michael Antonovich s office for helping to move the project forward in its early days. Najarian added that Metro was proud to contribute $1 million in Measure R funds to the project, which gives trucks and cars room to separate from each other. There s perhaps no better transportation project than that which can save lives, and that s clearly what we have accomplished today. Page 4

5 Shirley Choate, deputy director of Caltrans District 7, hosted the ceremony and received commemorative certificates from several legislative representatives. The speakers and presenters included, clockwise from bottom left: Metro board member Ara Najarian; Santa Clarita s 2014 Mayor Laurene Weste; Assemblyman Scott Wilk; CHP Cmdr. Ed Krusey; Michael Cano, transportation deputy to county Mayor Michael Antonovich; Kara Seward, representing state Sen. Fran Pavley; Sarah Tyndall, representing then-sen. Steve Knight; and, Brett Walter, representing the retiring Rep. Howard Buck McKeon. Four photos bottom right by Thomas Ritter/Caltrans; All other photos by Tim Whyte Continued on page 6 INTERCHANGE, Winter 2015 Page 5

6 Leahy Stepping Down from MTA Helm Art Leahy is stepping down after six years as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Metro photo Art Leahy, CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), has announced his last day of service will be April 5, when his current contract expires. Leahy, 65, who started his transportation career as a bus operator and became one of the nation s leading transit officials, has headed Metro for six years. During that time he guided implementation of one of the largest public works programs in U.S. history and helped secure billions of dollars in federal and state funding to match local transit sales taxes to finance dozens of transit and highway projects. Today Metro has transit and highway projects and programs valued at more than $14 billion, eclipsing that of any other transportation agency in the nation. Major highway projects such as the I-5 widening to Orange County have broken ground under Leahy s watch and the new 10-mile northbound carpool lane on the I-405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass has opened. Leahy led the successful Carmageddon I & II weekend closures for bridge work as part of that effort. Prior to his tenure as Metro CEO, Leahy served as chief executive officer at the Orange County Transportation Authority and general manager of the transit agency in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Leahy grew up in Highland Park. His parents worked in transit and he followed in their footsteps. He started as a bus operator for the Southern California Rapid Transit District in Los Angeles in 1971 and rose through the ranks to become chief operations officer before taking leadership positions at other agencies. Metro is the lead transportation planning and programming agency for L.A. County, a major builder of transit and highway projects and is one of the largest transit operators in the United States. Metro employs more than 9,000 workers and has an annual $5-billion budget. Lindenheim Continued from page 8 Page 6 Gateway Coalition Executive Director Victor Lindenheim proudly joined Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste and Assemblyman Scott Wilk in saluting the opening of the I-5 truck lanes. Photo by Tim Whyte DOT radar screen as a national priority for funding, with the cooperation and support of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer, and Congressmen Kevin McCarthy and Brad Sherman. Thank you to our state representatives Sen. Fran Pavley and Sen. Steve Knight, soon to be Congressman Knight, and Assemblyman Scott Wilk, for their support. Thank you to Supervisor Mike Antonovich and fellow Metro Board member Ara Najarian both supporters of the I-5 project and longtime members of the Gateway Coalition. Thank you to the council members and staff of the City of Santa Clarita especially Mayor Laurene Weste, Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean, and Councilmember Bob Kellar who were in our corner from the beginning, more than 10 years ago. And thanks to our newer council members, TimBen Boydston and Dante Acosta, for their support for this project and other transportation improvements in the Santa Clarita Valley. And finally, thanks to Mayor Jim Ledford of Palmdale, chairman of the North County Transportation Coalition, who has always recognized that transportation needs go beyond municipal boundaries and gave his support to the effort to expand the capacity of Interstate 5. So, today, we celebrate a big milestone in our work to improve the ride on the I-5. The new capacity will, as you have heard, ease traffic congestion, improve safety, and greatly improve the odds of getting to work and getting home on time for all of us. And, in the next year, the drivers of more than 75 million vehicles passing through here will enjoy those benefits, as well. In closing, I want to emphasize that we still have work to do and more progress to look forward to in the I-5 corridor in north L.A. County. Phase 2 of these improvements will result in additional capacity north and south between the I-5/SR 14 interchange and Castaic. And, between Caltrans, Metro, the Federal Highway Administration and the Golden State Gateway Coalition, we have a unique and effective public/ private partnership in place to help make it happen. We look forward to your continued support. INTERCHANGE, Winter 2015

7 By the Numbers: I-5 Truck Lanes $67 million: Project cost, $5 million less than projected. 216,000: Number of vehicles that traverse the section of I-5 where the new truck lanes are open. 19,000: Number of trucks that pass through that same stretch of freeway each day. Source: Caltrans Would you like more information about the Golden State Gateway Coalition? If you are interested in supporting the Coalition s efforts to improve transportation in northern Los Angeles County, please visit our website: INTERCHANGE, Winter 2015 QuickTrips A roundup of North Los Angeles County transportation issues and roadway project updates Brown Outlines Transportation Priorities Gov. Jerry Brown issued his State of the State speech Jan. 5 in Sacramento and included remarks on the importance of infrastructure in California s future: We must also deal with longstanding infrastructure challenges. We are finally grappling with the long-term sustainability of our water supply through the recently passed Proposition I and our California Water Action Plan, Brown said. Equally important is having the roads, highways and bridges in good enough shape to get people and commerce to where they need to go, Brown said. It is estimated that our state has accumulated $59 billion in needed upkeep and maintenance. Each year, we fall further and further behind, and we must do something about it. Within the context of reducing carbon pollution and limiting emissions of heat-trapping gases, he cited a goal of reducing today s petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent within the next 15 years. And, the next day, the governor spoke in Fresno at the groundbreaking for the first Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. station stop of his legacy transportation project: the high-speed rail line, planned to eventually connect San Diego with Sacramento and the Bay Area in Northern California. The project has roughly $26 billion in potential state and federal funding over the next 14 years, of the estimated $68 billion total required for its completion. I-5/SR 170 Project Nearing Completion As 2015 began, Caltrans was in the final phases of the four-year construction of a high occupancy vehicle lane in each direction for vehicles with two or more passengers along Interstate 5 between the Ronald Reagan Freeway (SR-118) and Hollywood Freeway (SR-170) in Arleta and Pacoima. Construction began in 2010 and the new lanes are nearing completion. As of mid-january, crews were installing new overhead signs on the 3.4-mile stretch of freeway. In addition to the new lanes, a direct HOV connector is being constructed at the I-5/ SR-170 interchange so carpoolers can travel from one freeway directly to another without leaving the HOV lane similar to the direct connect already open at the I-5/SR14 interchange. This project will improve traffic flow, relieve congestion and encourage ride sharing. The project investment is $140 million. Project updates and information on construction-related closures can be found at i-5info.com. Gateway Coalition Renewals Under Way Membership renewals are under way for the Golden State Gateway Coalition, and Psomas and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital were among the first Coalition members renewing their support for If you need to renew or update your personal or business membership information, or if you would like to join as a new member, please contact Victor Lindenheim at vlinden@goldenstategateway.org. Page 7

8 From the Chairman By Tom DiPrima Chairman, Golden State Gateway Coalition 2014 was a very good year for roadway transportation improvements. The Golden State Gateway Coalition achieved its first major objective: completion of the first phase of improvements to Interstate 5 in North Los Angeles County new truck lanes and mixed flow lanes through the steeply graded Newhall Pass. The opening of this important new freeway segment did not happen by 2014: It Was a Very Good Year Tom DiPrima accident. It took a great deal of focused attention, advocacy and education. It took $67 million in funding for construction considerably less than estimated. It took the support of the north county communities, community leaders, elected officials and their staffs, and allied local organizations, to get it done. The I-5 capacity enhancements did not happen in a vacuum, either. We have recently seen improvements to the I-405 open to traffic. Expansion work on the I-5 from the 118 to the 134 in Glendale continues apace, with an opening anticipated in And another major roadway project in our region the I-5 to 170 connector should be completed in 2015, as well. Looking further north, widening of key corridors through Palmdale and Lancaster were achieved, and the environmental studies and preliminary engineering for the High Desert Corridor are heading toward completion next year. Connectivity and congestion mitigation today and accommodating tomorrow s growth in population and commerce is happening. It won t be without its challenges. But, we can appreciate the improvements that have been made, and look forward to staying engaged in the process, starting with the Gateway Coalition s work to expedite the next phase of I-5 capacity enhancements. Thank you for your support. My best wishes to you and yours for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. The opening of this important new freeway segment did not happen by accident. It took a great deal of focused attention, advocacy and education. On the Web: Golden State Gateway Coalition Avenue Tibbitts, Suite K Valencia, CA For additions, deletions, change of address or to receive this publication via , please contact us at the address above of via at: vlinden@goldenstategateway.org Content and design copyright by Golden State Gateway Coalition, Valencia, CA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, without the prior written approval of the Coalition, Avenue Tibbitts, Suite K, Valencia, CA Phone: Fax: