Culver City : New Road to Ease Traffic

The Culver City Council unanimously decided this week to build a 64-foot-wide roadway along the southern edge of the Studio Drive-In Theater rather than pursue a more complicated and more expensive realignment of the Y-shaped intersection of Jefferson and Sepulveda boulevards.

In November, the council rejected four proposed realignments ranging in cost from $4 million to $12 million. The city staff had recommended realigning Jefferson slightly eastward at Cota Street into part of an existing shopping center and cutting across the Studio Drive-In Theater and a corner of a post office parking lot.

But residents of Studio Village Townhouses on Sepulveda Boulevard opposed that proposal because it called for a ban on left turns into and out of the complex.

The city originally wanted to move the intersection of Sepulveda and Jefferson boulevards because it is 300 feet from the intersection of Sepulveda and Sawtelle boulevards. Traffic engineers say that for maximum traffic flow, the two intersections should be a minimum of 600 feet apart.

Although the desired separation will not be achieved, the new roadway, which is a few hundred feet north of the Sepulveda-Jefferson intersection, is expected to siphon enough traffic away to keep vehicles moving smoothly.

The new roadway project, which will cost $2 million to build and is expected to be completed in about 18 months, will include a traffic light at the townhouse complex’s main driveway on Sepulveda Boulevard.

The road is the last phase of a program designed to alleviate traffic congestion along Sepulveda Boulevard near Fox Hills Mall. Early last year, Sepulveda was widened, and synchronized traffic signals were installed.