Board approves widening of Irvine Avenue

-- Paul Clinton

The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a project

Tuesday to widen Irvine Avenue.

As a part of the $3.6-million project, Irvine Avenue will be widened

along the S-curve between University Drive and Bristol Street.

The street is now four lanes in both directions. Plans call for two

more lanes.

The street runs along the border of Newport Beach and unincorporated

Santa Ana Heights. Also on Tuesday, the board agreed to designate

portions of Irvine Avenue as a county highway.

The goal of the project is to increase circulation along the road,

according to a county staff report.

The section of Irvine Avenue that curves along the border of the Back

Bay was the site of a notorious May 1997 crash in which a carload of

teenagers heading home from a party flipped over. Donny Bridgman was

killed in the crash, and two other teens suffered brain damage.