Pico Rivera : Boulevard Widening

The City Council has unanimously agreed to pay more than half of the $1.3-million widening of Whittier Boulevard between the city limits and Paramount Boulevard. The 1 1/2-mile project, which is scheduled to begin in December, is a key element in the city’s cleanup of its downtown business district.

The city will pay about $690,000 of the street improvements, while Caltrans will pay about $600,000. While Whittier Boulevard will be widened, no new traffic lanes will be added to the four existing lanes. Widening the boulevard will create room for landscaped medians and a series of left-hand turn lanes. In Pico Rivera, Whittier Boulevard travels east-west through the heart of the city’s redevelopment district.

“Whittier is an important street in this city,” City Manager Dennis Courtemarche said. “We are attempting to make it safer for both motorists and pedestrians.”