Angeles Forest Highway Commuters Face Longer Travel Times Starting This Month

Motorists who regularly use Angeles Forest Highway to commute between the Antelope Valley and the Los Angeles basin should anticipate longer travel times as a major highway improvement project gets underway in late April.

The seven-month project will enhance public safety with rehabilitated pavement, new pavement markers and rumble strips along a 16-mile stretch of the popular roadway from Angeles Crest Highway to one mile south of Aliso Canyon Road.

Construction generally will take place during off-peak traffic hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at least one travel lane will remain open for through traffic.

However, motorists should plan for increased travel times of up to 30 minutes and are encouraged to consider alternate routes, such as the Antelope Valley Freeway, or to take public transportation. Metrolink’s Antelope Valley Line provides service from Lancaster and Palmdale to Glendale, Burbank, Union Station and points in between.

The resurfacing project will employ an environmentally-friendly method known as cold in-place recycling, which reuses existing pavement at the job site and decreases the number of truck trips needed. To deliver construction material to the project site, trucks will travel on Angeles Crest Highway north of the Foothill Freeway.

Residents and commuters with questions should contact the LA County Public Works’ Palmdale road maintenance yard at (661) 272-0817.

The $9.2 million project is funded by a grant through the California Federal Land Access Program.