Temporary Freeway Ramp to Ease Coliseum Traffic

Caltrans plans to build a temporary southbound off-ramp on the Harbor Freeway near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard--to be open only for Raiders and USC football games--to minimize game-day traffic disruption from a lengthy freeway project.

An agreement between state transportation and Coliseum officials also calls for an acceleration of work on a northbound off-ramp at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to be open all the time.

Both the off-ramps should be completed by the first football game in the renovated Coliseum, which is scheduled for Sept. 4, a Caltrans official said Wednesday.

Sam Alameddine, a senior transportation engineer, estimated the additional cost of the special work at $400,000. But he said the total cost of the freeway reconstruction project will be $7 million less than envisioned when bids were first put out.

“We originally estimated the cost at $40 million,” Alameddine said. “But during the recession, the contractors are hungry. The winning bid was only $32 million, so even with this added on, we are paying less than we thought we would.”

Officials said the temporary off-ramp will lead traffic to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, from which motorists will have direct access to Coliseum parking lots. The ramp will be open from three hours before games to one hour after they begin. There will also be an on-ramp to allow easy freeway access when games are over.

When the off-ramps were closed several weeks ago, Caltrans officials said the southbound one might remain closed as long as nine months. This demoralized Coliseum officials eager to get the season off to a successful start with the stadium’s new seating configuration.

“We’re very pleased with the way Caltrans has responded,” said Margaret Farnum, the Coliseum Commission’s administrative officer.

Farnum said discussions are under way with Caltrans for the same arrangement for Clipper basketball games and other events at the Sports Arena, which is next to the Coliseum.