Roadwork may be on the way to Costa Mesa

Lolita Harper

Residents could look forward to $4.7 million in road

rehabilitation projects if council members endorse preliminary

contracts for portions of Red Hill Avenue and Bristol, Bear and 17th

streets on Monday.

Various portions of the streets are in need of total repaving, and

council members will review contracts for the design work for all

three, totaling $318,492, officials said.

Bill Morris, the city’s director of public services, said Costa

Mesa was recently awarded $2.1 million from the Orange County

Transportation Authority for the three separate projects and must put

them out to bid by June to receive the grants.

“We were fortunate enough to get all of them approved, but we have

a deadline and we have got to do [the design portion] now to get them

ready for bid,” Morris said.

Councilman Gary Monahan said he is pleased to see preliminary work

being readied for the needed improvements, but reminds residents that

the city must produce matching funds for each project.

“It’s all good news, but we don’t necessarily have these projects

guaranteed,” Monahan said. “We still have to come up with the

matching funds.”

City engineers have recommended a $112,812 contract with Lim and

Nascimento Engineering Corporation for the design portion of the

Bristol and Bear streets rehabilitation project. Local transportation

will reimburse the city for about $713,487, a staff report reads. And

the city would be left with the remaining $794,921 for construction.

Officials recommended Praedium Engineering Inc. to handle the 17th

Street and Red Hill Avenue design projects for $104,680 and $101,000,

respectively. County transportation authorities have offered $654,690

for Red Hill Avenue and $763,088 for 17th Street, leaving the city to

pay $1.6 million.

Council members will have to allocate $2,458,071 in the 2003-04 budget to cover the city’s portion of the three projects.

City Councilman-elect Allan Mansoor, scheduled to be sworn in Dec.

2, campaigned on a platform of getting “back to the basics” of city

government, such as road improvements.

Mansoor was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.

Monahan said his future colleague’s commitment to infrastructure

projects should bode well for the three major projects, as the new

council will be in charge of the 2003-04 budget.

“I think with Allan talking about that and focusing on that it

will be good,” Monahan said. “You will see markedly different

priorities as far as discretionary funds in the upcoming budget

process.”

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.