Q. Hi Honk. The westbound 91 Freeway approaching the southbound 55 has to be the biggest log jam in the world, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. That area is often bumper to bumper on the 91, while the two adjacent tollway lanes of traffic can travel 80 mph in the same direction. If you did nothing else but clean up this traffic jam, I am sure that a statue of you would be erected alongside the road by westbound 91 motorists. I suggest that the westbound tollway portion of the freeway end at Lakeview Avenue. If you get the chance, get a chair, a cold beer and a good cigar and plant yourself on the Lakeview bridge to see how scarce cars are in this stretch of toll road heading toward the 55. This traffic jam has to be adding thousands of tons of exhaust pollutants into the air every day along with thousands of gallons of gas being wastefully used while motorists idle going nowhere fast.

— Al Geisweidt, Anaheim Hills

A. Honk would prefer a Pulitzer Prize, but a statute will do – so long as it shows him a few years back with a full head of hair.

The passages between Orange County and the Inland Empire have been troubled for decades and major relief isn’t on the way.

Years ago, there was talk of double-decking the 91, and another proposal called for burrowing a highway through the mountains. Those ideas are dead for now, and with only the 91 Freeway and the adjacent 91 Express Lanes, as well as the windy, kinda perilous Ortega Highway down south, there aren’t a lot of viable options for current transportation officials.

That section of the toll lanes that you mentioned, Al, between the 55 Freeway and Lakeview, is about a mile and is not going to be turned over to the freeway.

“The purpose of the 91 Express Lanes is to give people the opportunity for a reliable and time-saving commute when it’s most important for them,” Eric Carpenter, an OCTA spokesman, said in an email. “Opening up the lanes would defeat that purpose. (And the) OCTA continues to pay back the loan used to purchase the lanes through toll revenue.”

Any extra cash must be poured back into improvements in this corridor.

There is some good news, though. Steps will be taken to reduce weaving, a major contributor to congestion.

The westbound on-ramp at Lakeview will be improved in a couple of years, to include two lanes that will directly connect to the southbound 55, so drivers don’t have to cross a couple of lanes anymore, slowing others down, to make that transition. Lane markings will be improved to encourage less weaving, too, as drivers get in the proper lane to go south or continue west on the 91.

So, no statue?

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Honkin’ update: Last week Honk said when selling most old cars a smog check is required. True. But he had an inkling there might be an exemption or two, and sought out more info after writing up that fine edition of Honk. John Swanton, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, provided it.

Huntington Beach’s Earleen Carrasco, you might recall, wanted to sell her 2008 Chrysler 300 that had trouble passing a smog inspection to her mechanic and wondered if there was some sort of waiver. The Department of Motor Vehicles’ website didn’t mention any.

But there is one, in fact, when selling to those who have an auto dealer’s license, which many mechanics have, as they must, because they sell a certain number of vehicles as a side (and legitimate) hustle.

So ask, Earleen.

Swanton said those buying older cars deserve the assurance that their new purchases passed the smog inspection. But, the reasoning goes, professionals know what they need to do to fix such a problem – and then can get the smog certification afterward.

And yeah, yeah, yeah, Honk is well aware he should have called the expert before dispensing info, to ensure the DMV’s website covered everyone. He’s brilliant, people, but not perfect.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk