CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Caltrans is asking the public to attend two hearings regarding its $1.3 billion Interstate 805 Corridor Improvement Project.

The project includes the addition of carpool lanes to an 11-mile stretch of the freeway between Palomar Street in Chula Vista and Interstate 15. Officials said I-805 carries on average up to 261,000 vehicles every day.

A smaller feature of the project is a new on- and offramp to I-805 at Palomar Street that would be reserved for buses and carpools and could ease congestion that builds up during rush hour.

Three major arteries connect to I-805 in Chula Vista: H Street, Telegraph Canyon Road and Olympic Parkway. All three regularly back up every morning as commuters from eastern Chula Vista head to work. An offramp on Palomar Street, which sits between Telegraph Canyon and Olympic Parkway, could carry some of the load.

Traffic is light on Palomar Street, which currently has only an overpass at I-805. The ramp would go right in the middle of the bridge and directly into carpool lanes.

However, residents living near Palomar Street aren't as excited. They said the added traffic will raise the noise level and endanger pedestrians.

"It might be getting a little bit more dangerous, especially with people walking around here," Zeke Torres said.

His neighbor, Juan Ruiz, has been living on Palomar Street since 1982, and he said, "I don't really like it but what can I say?" Ruiz added he might even consider moving.

Caltrans is hosting two public hearing hearings this month, with the first at 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Loma Verde Recreation Center in Chula Vista.

The second hearing is at 5 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in San Diego.