STANTON : Super-Street Drain Problem Is Raised

Flooding along sections of Beach Boulevard, a chronic problem in the rainy season, could become worse when the boulevard is widened to become a “super-street,” Stanton city officials warned the county Transportation Commission.

With final designs for the project already being prepared, City Council members last week appealed to a commissioner to reconsider the decision not to fund a more efficient drainage system. The commission and Caltrans contend that the city must pay for any drainage improvement.

The flooding problems at the intersection of Cerritos Avenue and Beach Boulevard, and between Orangewood and Katella avenues, have plagued the highway during heavy rainstorms for years, city officials said.

The plans call for intersection widenings, lane restriping, median redesign and signal coordination. The part of the plan under discussion involves about $9 million worth of design costs, and pavement and rehabilitation work on Beach Boulevard from the San Diego Freeway to Lincoln Avenue. The costs will be shared by the commission and Caltrans.

County and state highway officials agree that a drainage problem exists in Stanton and that it would be most cost-effective to fix the system during the construction of the super-street project, according to Lisa Mills, the commission’s planning manager. Some of the drainage problems are due in part to the inability of the county flood-control channel to contain all the water that runs off the street, she said.

But because studies indicate that the flooding is caused “mostly by off-site developments,” Mills said, the state determined that the city should pay for drainage improvements.

The commission estimates that drainage improvements at the two main problem areas would cost $770,000.

“We don’t have a problem doing it,” Mills told the City Council. What needs to be resolved, however, is who’s going to pay for the work, she said.

Caltrans has taken the position that if the city does not pay for the main drainage improvements in question, they will not be included in the super-street construction, Mills said. If portions of Beach Boulevard then continue to flood after the super-street project is completed, Mills said, Caltrans would place warning cones along unusable lanes when necessary.

Councilman Sal Sapien asked Mills to determine if a compromise funding arrangement might be possible. The council also asked the city staff to explore other avenues of financing, including grants and an assessment district.

“Help us find money,” Sapien urged Mills. “Without drains, we won’t have a super street.”