At the cost of roughly $245 million and with the completion of a 1,000-foot bridge over a river, the residents of Santa Clarita finally have a way to travel east and west across the valley without relying on heavily-congested streets. With the completion of the Cross Valley Connector, commuters will now be able to travel from Highway 14 directly across to Interstate 5 and Highway 126.

The Cross Valley Connector was 10 years in the making. For years, the city council listed traffic as the number-one concern for residents. With the valley's mountains and scattered housing tracts, it hasn't been easy for city engineers to design a perfect grid street pattern.

"This has been a huge project," said Mayor Laurene Weste. "The Cross Valley Connector will dramatically change the flow of traffic in the Santa Clarita Valley."

Weste said she remembers writing the proposal for the road years ago and was told it couldn't be done. With so many obstacles in the way, it did seem impossible, but an old right-of-way was discovered and the planners were off and running. "There is a very narrow area you could thread through," Weste said. "It's literally an embroidery stitch."

As with all big projects, funding was also a challenge. Between grants and public and private partnerships, the city was able to pull together enough funds to cover the $245 million price tag.
There were also major environmental issues to address. "We had to build the bridge in one of the wider areas of the river," Weste said. "We had to handle it in a sensitive manner."

Once money was found and environmental issues were tackled, the project began in late 1999 at Golden Valley Road, Soledad Canyon Road and Highway 14.

In 2008, work was completed at Newhall Ranch Road west to connect with Highway 126. Much to the delight of Castaic residents, that 1.6-mile extension provides an eight-lane route to and from Interstate 5 and Highway 126 in and out of the Santa Clarita Valley.

The final phase was the 8-mile road and bridge. Even though heavy rains poured down on the valley in January and February, much of the bridge and road construction went smoothly, said Robert Newman, city director of Public Works.

"We were prepared for the weather," Newman said. "[The road] will change the way we travel and completely change the Bouquet Junction intersection."

Once the last of the eight sections of the bridge was poured and water lines and storm drains were placed, city officials began planning a series of parties and celebrations. The official Grand Opening on March 27 will be complete with a barbecue and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

At its highest point, the bridge over the river rises about 30 feet off the ground. The view from the top is stunning, Weste said, and it can also be enjoyed by pedestrians, as there are concrete barriers that will protect them from traffic. A Class-1 bike trail has also been incorporated into the design.

Weste said the city's computerized traffic monitoring system will be able to evaluate any glitch in the roadways (such as traffic diversion from Highway 14 or Interstate 5) and can make changes allowing the traffic to flow. Both Lyons Avenue and Soledad Canyon Road has been used for alternate freeway routes and the Cross Valley Connector would take the traffic off the streets of Santa Clarita and put it on a "free-flowing" roadway, she said.

This is a great relief to many commuters. Canyon Country resident Gary Choppe has been traveling Soledad Canyon Road for years. He has a son at Golden Valley High School and said the commute between home, school and a Valencia office has been stressful.

"One accident or any roadwork on Soledad can ruin your day," Choppe said. "There have been times when cars are re-routed because of an accident on the freeway and Soledad becomes a parking lot."

"Everyone will benefit from the Cross Valley Connector," says Weste, who takes great pride in this project. A lot of people have been working on this for many years, she said. The city had well over 100 partners, contractors and stakeholders on the six phases of the Cross Valley Connector.

"If you didn't have a city, you wouldn't have this road," Weste said. "We took all the hurdles and we crossed them."