Streets get face-lift

A number of streets in Newport Beach are getting a makeover this summer at a price of more than $6 million.

First on the list to get a major face-lift is Eastbluff Drive, whose rehabilitation project began a few weeks ago and should be finished by the end of summer.

The project is a pavement overlay for the entire street, grinding the edges and adding new asphalt, and will patch up potholes and other trouble spots, city officials said.

Those additions will reduce noise, better the drive, and improve the general wear and tear of the road, public works official Dave Webb said.

“It’s all part of a strategic effort to keep our infrastructure in excellent condition,” Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said.

But the project is much more costly than in years past with asphalt prices affected, much like everything else, by the rising costs of oil. Asphalt costs about $80 a ton compared with six or seven years ago when the same amount cost $45, Webb said. That price has increased the total cost of some city projects, which are more expensive than people expect, Webb said.

The Eastbluff project costs about $1.1 million for the contract, Webb said, and the year’s capital improvement projects for streets and alleys approved on the budget will cost about $6.6 million. The project is funded through various avenues, such as the state gas tax, County Measure M, special bonding, grant and the city’s general fund, Daigle said.

Eastbluff is slated to be completed at the end of August to avoid conflict when Corona del Mar High School students come back in the fall for the 2008-09 school year.

The street is open during construction as workers do one lane at a time, but those looking to avoid traffic can take Jamboree Road to the other side of Eastbluff.

Other projects soon to get underway are a Dover Drive sidewalk addition by Castaways Park, rehabilitation of Birch Street between Bristol Street and MacArthur Boulevard, work on Dove Street between Birch and Campus Drive, and construction on Kings Road that is scheduled for later this year.

TIMELINE

Eastbluff Drive Rehabilitation: Construction began June 23 and will be finished by the end of August.

Birch Street Rehabilitation: Construction will begin in mid-July and will be completed in September.

Dover Drive Sidewalk: Construction will begin in August and will be finished by the beginning of November.

Coast Highway Sidewalk: Construction began July 7 and is estimated to be finished in early August.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.