Landscaping up for approval

The Costa Mesa City Council is expected to sign off tonight on landscaping improvements at the 405 Freeway interchange at Fairview Road.

Palm Desert-based Sierra Landscape Co. Inc. will be awarded a $420,130 bid for the landscaping, which will include the planting of trees and shrubs.

The company presented the city with the lowest bid after Tal Cal Engineering Inc. withdrew its offer.

“Fairview is an important gateway to the city. A lot of people use this ramp to access our community and the city is always looking for improvements,” said Raja Sethuraman, Costa Mesa Transportation Services manager.

Two months ago, the city completed the widening of the Fairview overpass above the 405 Freeway, including the southbound portion of the freeway’s onramp. This added a third left-turn lane to the southbound 405 and 73 freeways.

The project cost $6 million. The Orange County Transportation Authority raised $3.4 million for the construction project through a half-cent sales tax for transportation improvement and traffic congestion relief projects, said Laura Scheper, OCTA spokeswoman.

The rest of the funds came from the Home Ranch Project development impact funds, Sethuraman said.

“The traffic used to back up all the way to South Coast Drive and now we have more capacity to handle the traffic,” he said.

The landscaping will be paid for with funds the city secured from the Federal Transportation Enhancement Activities grant program. Although the grant was awarded to the city about a year and a half ago, the funds became available through President Obama’s national economic stimulus program.

If the council approves the project, construction is expected to begin in November and be completed by early spring, Sethuraman said.

The project is not expected to have an impact on traffic along Fairview Road because all of the work will be done on the shoulder of the freeway. A rebuilding of a barrier fence will be worked on during off-peak hours, Sethuraman said.