Are highway tunnels a viable alternative to the 405?

We need a real alternative to the 405, the 101 and the choked canyon roads for we Valley dwellers to get to the jobs we dearly need on the west side and parts south. We have two choices:  Either open more well engineered highways through canyons like Reseda Blvd., Mission Canyon, Mandeville Canyon and other OR dig highway tunnels under the mountains to Westwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

Before anyone says, “it can’t be done” I say look at Europe. They have tunnels several miles in length that work just fine. We can build a series of short underground super highways with minimal disruption and maximum payoff for everyone.

Politicians need to be visionary in their thinking about transit and willing to act boldly like the people who preceded them who built much of California’s now crumbling infrastructure. We don’t need more elected beurocrats who, when we ask “why” tell us “why not”. To our city council members, state legislators and national leaders who accept responsibility for deciding our regions transit future I say, you can either be part of our traffic solution or part of the problem. You decide.     

Are there tunnels in our transit future? I certainly hope so.