Ask the Bottleneck Blog: Rough road on the 10

Times Staff Writer Jean Guccione covers transportation in L.A. Jean will try to answer a few of the many questions about commuting and traffic we hear at the Bottleneck Blog.

Q: Why are the westbound lanes of the Santa Monica Freeway so white? The bright color - and faded stripes - makes it difficult to stay within traffic lanes.

A: Well, let’s just say the freeway is getting a manicure, of sorts. The pavement is being grinded and smoothed in both directions from the Harbor Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway. The roadwork, slated for completion in August, should even out ruts and make for a better commute. Caltrans officials say the construction also will extend the life of the road. Once the smoothing is complete, the lanes will be restriped.

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Comments

[David]

Coming from Philadelphia, I grew up taking for granted the brillaint idea of having certain traffic lights in the city "timed," so that traffic moving at say 35mph, would make it through all lights along a specifc route. Why doesn't Los Angeles have anything like this? Specifically, a stretch of lights such as on Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills would be a great place to start. Any ideas?