SOUNDING OFF:

In response to my letter touting a bright future for southtown Costa Mesa if the freeway dump disappears [“Southern Costa Mesa could be successful also,” April 4], blogger bob abooey writes, “Sure Tom, and I’ve got some oceanfront property I’ll let go for a cool 100 G’s!”

Depends on where your oceanfront property is, bob abooey. If it’s in Newport Beach, we’ve got a deal. If it’s near the Mexican border where the polluted river from Tijuana empties into the U.S. side of the Pacific Ocean — like the SR-55 empties into Costa Mesa — then no deal.

One other little detail: Is that price for the whole parcel, or per frontage foot? Your 100 G’s is about twice the price, per frontage foot, that Newport Beach property sells for (back in 2001, when I last looked at it).

That’s about the cost of boring a tunnel under downtown Costa Mesa: $45,000 per foot in 2001, maybe more now.

So to bore from 19th Street down to about Industrial Way, about a mile, would cost something less than $250 million. Boring might be more expensive than “cut and cover,” but it would keep Newport Boulevard operating as usual and keep businesses from being affected. Probably well worth it.

Two-hundred and fifty million dollars is more than you or I make in a week, I trust, so we couldn’t pay for it out of pocket. But does that make the project unfeasible? I think not.

A combination of grants and bonds could pay for it — maybe some congressional earmarks, if they don’t go out of style. The following could pay for bonds and operational expenses:

1. A modest toll, maybe 50 cents or $1, would bring in some revenue (and keep the businesses along Newport Boulevard happier by preventing all the through traffic from taking the tunnel route).

2. Capping over the SR-55 north of 19th Street to the tune of more than 1 million square feet and leasing it out would bring in steady revenue over many years. Bondholders would like that.

And once the freeway has been banished from surface streets, the free market will jump on the chance to exploit southtown’s potential. Revenue from sales and property taxes will skyrocket, bringing even more stability to the city of Costa Mesa.

So, bob abooey, back-of-the-envelope figures tell me that the biggest unknown in revitalizing southtown — the cost of burying the freeway — is at least in the realm of feasibility. As for your oceanfront property, let’s talk ...

TOM EGAN lives in Costa Mesa.