HUNTINGTON BEACH : City OKs Rerouting of Gothard Street

A five-way intersection that for years has harried motorists will be eased by the realignment of Gothard Street, approved last week by the City Council.

The city will reroute Gothard as part of plans for the sprawling Holly-Seacliff development, removing it from the bustling intersection with Main Street and Garfield Avenue.

Plans call for removal of the strip of Gothard between Ellis Avenue and Main Street. Under the new alignment, Gothard will curve west as it runs south of Ellis, merging with Crystal Street, now a mile-long, two-lane road.

Gothard will replace Crystal before intersecting with Main Street, where Gothard will head eastward, becoming Clay Avenue. The existing Main-Clay intersection will be modified to accommodate the new Gothard alignment, leaving it a four-way intersection.

Along with eliminating Gothard’s problematic intersection with Main and Garfield, the change will make way for a residential development to be built by Pacific Coast Homes, a subsidiary of the Huntington Beach Co., which owns most of the Holly-Seacliff property. The city and Pacific Coast Homes agreed to a master plan for the development.

City officials expect the Gothard realignment project may begin within two years, along with the initial phase of the Holly-Seacliff development.