LANCASTER : Contract Awarded to Build Overpass

Despite a pending legal challenge, Lancaster officials have awarded a $5.1-million contract to build a major overpass on Avenue L to carry traffic over the Southern Pacific railroad tracks at Sierra Highway.

The council voted 5 to 0 Monday night to award the contract to C.A. Rasmussen Inc. of Simi Valley. Most of the rest of the project’s nearly $13-million budget will be spent to acquire nearby property needed for the overpass and street widening.

A law firm filed a legal challenge last December alleging that the city wanted to illegally use low-income housing funds for this and another overpass, a claim the city has denied. But pending the outcome of the case, the city has switched to another source of funds for the Avenue L project.