County, Caltrans to meet on Red Hill closure

Nov. 3, 1999 12 AM PT

Susan McCormack

COSTA MESA -- The Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans

will hold a community meeting tonight to explain the 405/55 Improvement

Project because the Costa Mesa phase began last week.

When the construction project is finished, it will link carpool lanes on

the San Diego Freeway with those on the Costa Mesa Freeway, eliminating

the need for motorists to weave across lanes when switching freeways. As

part of the project, an onramp will be built at Anton Boulevard with an

offramp at Avenue of the Arts and Anton.

Construction will also focus in and around Red Hill Avenue and MacArthur

Boulevard.

Red Hill will be relocated about 18 feet to make way for the carpool

connector, said Transportation Authority spokesman Dave Simpson. This

construction is expected to begin in March and will take nine months to

complete, he said.

MacArthur Boulevard will be widened by one lane in each direction. During

construction, one of the three lanes in each direction will close,

starting this month. The work should be completed by midsummer, Simpson

said.

Planners have anticipated that the projects may cause confusion and

delays and have been working on a public awareness campaign to combat

this, Simpson added.

Transportation Authority officials said the project is needed because

more than 433,000 motorists pass through the interchange daily, making it

one of the top 10 busiest freeways in the country.

The meeting will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Doubletree Club

Hotel, 7 Hutton Centre, Santa Ana.Seventy percent of the $150-million

project is funded by Measure M, a half-cent transportation sales tax

approved by county voters in 1990. The balance of the project’s cost is

being covered by the federal government and the city of Costa Mesa.

The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2004.

For more information, call (800) 724-0353 or go online, o7