Local News in Brief : Beverly Glen Reopens

Beverly Glen Boulevard, a popular route between the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, has been reopened to traffic after the completion of a $1.8-million storm drain and repaving project three weeks ahead of schedule.

City and county officials said Monday that the procedures used during the repairs in Sherman Oaks may be adopted throughout Los Angeles to speed up similar projects.

When the project was launched June 20, some feared it could take up to six months, causing gridlock for the estimated 25,000 commuters who use the boulevard each day. But commuters were directed onto alternate routes by billboards, flyers and traffic officers. Temporary parking bans were placed on some nearby streets to provide extra traffic lanes for the displaced Beverly Glen motorists.

And residents of the hillside neighborhood were issued individual secret code numbers and windshield decals that allowed them to pass through the roadblocks manned by private security around the clock.

The storm drain contractor received an $18,000 bonus for finishing the installation early.