Coast Highway repaving planned

Drivers on Coast Highway who long for summer to be over and tourists to stop tying up traffic may be in for a shock come Labor Day.

Caltrans announced at the July 21 City Council meeting that a major repaving project will begin Sept. 8 on State Route 1, extending from Laguna’s southern border to Aster Street. The project is expected to be completed by Dec. 21.

“I am hoping the project will be completed by November,” Councilwoman Toni Iseman said.

Tracy Lavelle, chief of Caltrans Public Information Office for District 12, told the council that it can choose at which end the five-mile project should begin and end. In either case the project is expected to take 70 days, with one lane closed in each direction as work is underway on a segment “” probably about a one block bottleneck.

“We hope to complete the project ahead of schedule, but we are trying to accommodate an area with a lot of tourist traffic,” Lavelle said.

Crews are not scheduled to work from 3 p.m. Fridays to 11 p.m. Sundays or on holidays.

“That extends the project,” Lavelle said. “You can’t have it both ways.”

Crews will resume 11 p.m. Sunday to 3 a.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, including Mondays.

Traffic control crews will be on duty to direct the traffic flow, Lavelle told the council.

State Route 1, which runs along the coast and is called Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, is the main artery for beach communities and the traffic has taken its toll.

Caltrans determined that the heavy use by locals, commuters, public transit and cyclists has created safety hazards, particularly for cyclists.

To preserve the roadway and make it a safer and more pleasant drive, District 12 recommended localized “dig-outs,” where the asphalt will be completely removed to repair the distressed areas, and capping the surface with slurry seal.

“This project will dramatically improve the road conditions, but we are very mindful of the impacts,” Lavelle said. “We will be doing intense outreach to residents and businesses that will be impacted by the project.

“We will go door-to-door and submit fliers to businesses and residents along the five-mile stretch of the project.”

Lavelle assured a concerned Councilwoman Jane Egly that Caltrans would be in contact with Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.

The project is one of four in Orange County to be funded by federal economic stimulus funds. Total construction costs for the Laguna project are set at $1.8 million.