Do fires signal a freeway need?

The plan to build a freeway from the Antelope Valley to Victorville has long been a dream in the fast-growing high desert. But now, some officials are citing twin disasters -- the I-5 tunnel fire and the wildfires -- as proof the freeway is needed, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

Two disasters last month were stark reminders of what a fragile thread our transportation network can be in the face of a natural or man-made disaster, highlighting the need for alternatives. First was the shutdown of Interstate 5 when a tanker truck erupted into an inferno that closed a major tunnel just north of Los Angeles. Closer to home were the tragic firestorms that roared through our local mountains, torching 14,000 acres and incinerating 439 homes. In the early hours of the fires, Interstate 15 through the Cajon Pass was closed, stranding numerous High Desert commuters and triggering gridlock at the top and bottom of the pass. Interstate 15 is one of only two major freeways connecting the Inland Empire and the Los Angeles basin with the rest of the nation to the east. The Cajon Pass has been shut down numerous times over the years for everything from snow to fires to deadly train derailments. Also in the pass, the San Andreas Fault slices right beneath the freeway.

Comments

[Mark]

Eric, freeways don't "promote sprawl". Your argument is so tired and hackneyed. Do you really think families want to live in high-rise condos in the city? I'll tell you: They don't. They want peace and quiet and a nice little yard for their kids and the dog.

If you don't like single-family homes in the suburbs, fine, don't buy one, but let others live where they want to live.

[Enlightenment]

Should do the following...obviously none would be cheap...but all important for the future of the SoCal area.

- Convert Hiway 58 to 4-lane limited access freeway from Barstow to Bakersfield, and reroute to make it flow better.

- Create a new freeway on the high-desert side of the fault, tracking approximately with Hiway 138 in some places and connect I5 to I15.

- Cut a major new freeway through the mountains starting at I605 and route approximately along old Hiway 38 to the high desert side and connect up with a new freeway.

- New North-South freeway from Mexicali to Barstow to off-load traffic further east.

Tunnel or Cut a new freeway in Orange County as a diagonal from I5 to I15 to I215 to I10. Think big.

[Eric]

I say, rather than build another freeway, why not stop the urban sprawl that already plagues our region? I think that bond money should go towards improving public transportation rather than adding more freeways that only promote outward growth.
I understand the argument about needing to ease the transport of goods, but the claim that this new freeway will have a 'wide, safe alternative' will prove to be short lived. It will allow more sprawl, which will only clog the freeway as badly as anywhere else in socal. Unless you can guarantee that the people that will move to that area will also work in that area, which is unlikely, this will only worsen the rest of the freeways in our region with more traffic.
I would prefer to see rail used in the High Desert. The article claims that every freight train reduces 200 trucks off our freeways. If the goal is to transport goods, then trains appear to be the way to go. A rail line dedicated to freight trains will not deal with traffic and will not promote sprawl as badly as a freeway would.