Baking up a new street

Lolita Harper

The line of brake lights in the evening gives an eerie illumination to

the beaten asphalt and massive machines being used to repave a stretch of

Baker Street in Costa Mesa.

Major construction on a half-mile portion of Baker -- from Fairview

Road to Harbor Boulevard -- will tear out that section of the street and

replace it with new, more shock-friendly pavement, officials said. The

$1-million project, which also includes a one-block section of Fairview

from Newport Boulevard to Wilson Street, will continue for about three

months, Costa Mesa Assistant City Engineer Ernesto Munoz said.

“The pavement surface has outlived its use,” Munoz said.

All Costa Mesa streets must undergo a major overhaul such as this one

every 20 to 50 years depending on maintenance. The more maintenance, the

longer the road’s life, he said. Baker was last fixed about 10 years ago.

Traffic on Baker is limited to one lane each way, and the lines of

cars run the length of the block during rush hour.

No turns were permitted off Baker for westbound traffic on Wednesday

morning, making it nearly impossible to access Logan Avenue, which runs

parallel to the construction site. McClintock Way and College Drive

serves as bookends to Logan and both were blocked Wednesday morning.

Margy Floyd, manager of Rockreation Sport Climbing Center at 1300

Logan Ave., said the construction has not affected business because the

center does not rely on foot traffic. Most patrons are members or have

reservations, so they will find a way to get there, Floyd said.

But the street improvements have altered Floyd’s commute. Floyd said

she was forced to turn left on Harbor, then left onto Village Way, left

on College Drive and finally right on Logan Avenue.

“It was a pain to get here,” she said.

Munoz said construction should not block access to surrounding streets

under normal circumstances, but temporary restrictions may occur to move

machinery. Construction creates some inconvenience, but the results will

improve the traffic flow come May.

In addition to resurfacing the street, construction crews will also

fix portions of the curb, gutter and ramps that have been uplifted by

tree roots or the soil. Most of the city’s soil is clay-based and expands

when it gets wet, Munoz said. Costa Mesa streets take an extra beating

during the rainy season because of it, officials say.

“It swells like a sponge when it gets wet and the pressure from the

clay brakes up the concrete,” Munoz said.