Red Hill bridge to close for nine months

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Drivers accustomed to crossing the Costa Mesa Freeway via

the overpass at Red Hill Avenue will need to use an alternative route for

the next nine months, the city’s transportation director said Thursday.

Construction crews will close the bridge to traffic on March 9, said

Peter Naghavi, the city’s manager of transportation services, at a Costa

Mesa-North Kiwanis meeting at the Holiday Inn.

The bridge closure is part of a much larger project to link carpool lanes

on the San Diego (405) Freeway with those on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.

The county, city and the California Department of Transportation are

collaborating on the $150-million project, which will eventually link 120

miles of carpool lanes throughout the county. Naghavi said he expects the

entire project to be completed by 2004.

Construction crews will tear down and rebuild the bridge at Red Hill

Avenue, which passes over the San Diego Freeway, so that it stands 16

feet higher, Naghavi said. The new bridge will have a free-flowing

carpool lane and include space for bicycle commuters.

During the nine months of construction, drivers crossing the freeway over

the Red Hill bridge will be forced to wind around five nearby streets.

Naghavi said he expects the worst traffic delays caused by the

construction will be during rush hour.

Naghavi also told Kiwanis members he believes the Orange County

Transportation Authority this summer will choose the type of rail line

that will connect Irvine with Costa Mesa.

The county is exploring whether an elevated rail line or a slower, less

expensive line running at street level, would be the best option for the

two cities.

The county initially envisioned the line would connect Fullerton with

Irvine. But all of the cities in the heart of the line -- Fullerton,

Anaheim and Huntington Beach -- were not interested.

Costa Mesa and Irvine agreed to go ahead with planning the first segment

of the rail line, anticipating other cities will eventually hop on board.

“I expect when they see our success, they’ll come back,” Naghavi said,

adding that Orange County’s population is predicted to grow by 25% in the

next 30 years. “They won’t have much of an alternative.”