Pipeline work to slow traffic on Coast Highway

Construction on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach is expected to snarl traffic along Mariner’s Mile as the first phase of an Orange County Sanitation District project ramps up in coming days.

New stripes delineating traffic lanes were scheduled to be painted this week, heralding the rehabilitation of a sewer pipeline that channels wastewater beneath the busy stretch of road.

“Continuing to use the existing aging pipeline increases the risk of a potentially massive sewer spill into Newport Harbor,” a city statement said this week. “This would be devastating.”

Some work had already begun just west of Newport Boulevard. As construction accelerates Monday, managing traffic won’t be easy, City Manager Dave Kiff said.

“Going down Coast Highway through Mariner’s Mile is about to get rough!” he wrote in an email.

Most of the Mariner’s Mile work will be on the highway’s median, calling for lanes to be shifted to the outer edges of the highway, according to a construction update posted on the sanitation district’s website.

To do so, street parking will be eliminated. Westbound traffic will be limited to one lane from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Otherwise, there will be two lanes in each direction.

The city has suggested that motorists and cyclists use alternate paths when possible.

The changes are scheduled to occur in stages. Work will first affect the portion of the highway between Dover Drive and a pump station near the Chapman University rowing center. Within that stretch, work between the pump station and the Balboa Bay Club is expected to be finished by early December. Work between the club and Dover Drive is expected to be complete in early November.

Construction is planned in late October for the roadway west of the pump station to Tustin Avenue. An end date for that portion is uncertain because of the complexity of the work, said sanitation district spokeswoman Jennifer Cabral.

Construction will be restricted during the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, per the city’s request, Cabral said.

Then more work will continue through May. Details have not been announced.

A second phase of the project will begin in September 2015. Ultimately, it will reach from Prospect Street to Dover Drive.

For more information, call (714) 679-2088. Updates will be posted at https://www.ocsd.com/residents/newport-beach-program/newport-force-main-rehabilitation.