Culver City : Intersection Study OKd

The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, this week decided to allocate $20,000 for a study the agency hopes will lead to an innovative and relatively inexpensive design for the Slauson Avenue/Marina Freeway intersection.

The agency has been working for several years on plans for a flyover, or viaduct, at the intersection that would cut delays caused by vehicles turning left onto Slauson at the end of the freeway. City staff members said preliminary estimates for the cost of such a project run from $8 million to $9 million.

The conceptual study approved by the agency calls for a design for the intersection that would keep all traffic on the same level, yet improve traffic flow while permitting left-hand turns. The cost of implementing the design, if feasible, would be less than $1 million, according to an agency report.

A representative from F. Mier & Associates, which will prepare the study, said the company is working on a similar design for two intersections in New York City and has a patent pending on the concept.