The State : $42-Billion Freeway Cost

Even with severe restrictions on future driving, it will take massive spending on new freeways and transit to prevent the daily traffic catastrophe that many fear will define life in metropolitan Southern California by 2010, a new report obtained by The Times says. At best, the report says that more than $42 billion in construction is needed just to keep the freeways running close to today’s average speeds, already among the worst in the nation. If planners cannot alter where population growth and new jobs occur, and if drivers are not forced to change their habits, the cost could soar over $110 billion, the report concludes. To be released later this week by the Southern California Assn. of Governments, the report is the first comprehensive analysis of steps that might be taken to ease the transportation crisis that is widely anticipated as the region’s population swells.