Plans for Kanan Road interchange with 101 Freeway modified by Caltrans
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

Revised plan for 101 Freeway-Kanan Road interchange

The Kanan Road/101 Freeway interchange in Agoura Hills must undergo several major design changes before it can be approved by the California Department of Transportation, city officials said last week.

Caltrans advised city officials the $21 million project failed to meet certain design standards the department enacted last year.

The changes mainly affect the on and off ramps that are north of the freeway.

With its ongoing traffic backups, the interchange has been a thorn in the city’s side for more than a decade. Improvements were scheduled to get underway by the end of this year, but the design changes could delay the timetable.

Original plan for 101 Freeway-Kanan Road interchange

"We’re exploring alternatives right now with Caltrans to see if we can make it fit," said Jim Thorsen, Agoura Hills traffic engineer.

Caltrans’ main concern was the proposed westbound off ramp at Canwood Street. According to the new criteria, the exit ramp failed to join Canwood at a proper angle.

Caltrans also objected that the exit ramp connected to a new residential and commercial development being planned adjacent to Denny’s restaurant. The J.H. Snyder project will have 336 apartments, three restaurants and 95,000 square feet of office space.

City officials proposed Canwood Street be pointed north and have it intersect Kanan Road north of the Kanan Plaza Shopping Center.

"Certainly what they’re talking about as an alternative we can adjust to that," said John Gebhardt, Snyder’s senior vice president. "It looks like it’s kind of taking shape, but it caught us and the city a little aback."

Gebhardt said the Snyder project still would have access to Canwood, but farther away from the freeway than originally planned.

The development is waiting for permits and environmental approval by the city before groundbreaking can take place.

The owner of the McDonald’s restaurant at 29161 Canwood reportedly told the city the relocation of Canwood would affect that business as well.

"It’s not our intent to take them out," Thorsen said. "This design could accommodate awareness for McDonald’s even better."

The new plans call for Canwood street to run along the side of McDonald’s, not in front of it. Also planned is construction of a loop ramp near the existing Canwood/Kanan intersection for traffic heading west on the freeway.

Thorsen said plans for the interchange south of the freeway will remain the same. Travelers wishing to go east on the 101 will enter the freeway using loop ramps off Kanan Road and Roadside Drive.

None of the interchange plans call for a widening of the Kanan Road overpass, but with new loop ramps on both sides of the freeway, no more left turns will be necessary, a move that should improve traffic in all directions.