Traffic jam goes to study

Peter Naghavi, Costa Mesa’s director of public services, along with staff from the Orange County Transportation Authority are preparing to take bids for a project study on the expansion of the 55 Freeway where it ends on Newport Boulevard.

The report will examine the various proposed solutions and look at the project’s impact on local businesses and residents.

Bidders will be invited to bid on the project study by late March.

Costa Mesa took on the expansion project more than a year ago, as traffic congestion in the area made it impossible to ignore.

“A lot of people think traffic is good for business, but too much traffic and congested traffic is not good for business,” Naghavi said. “If I’m a loyal customer near there and it takes me half an hour to get there every time, I’m going to find another place where there isn’t too much traffic.”

About 100,000 cars unload from the southbound 55 Freeway onto Newport Boulevard with about half going to local destinations and the other half traveling to Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, among other cities, Naghavi said. And although there are seven lanes, they are not enough to prevent jams because the street eventually narrows.

The city attempted to help the situation by adding more lanes, but that relieved traffic by about 33%, Naghavi said.

Then and Now

In 1985, the California Department of Transportation proposed extending the freeway from 19th Street, where it ends, through the eastside of Newport Boulevard.

That plan would have eliminated at least 80 homes and businesses for needed space and the potential for a pedestrian-friendly downtown would be nonexistent, Naghavi said.

The proposal also stalled for lack of funds.

An access study, which cost about $275,000, provided seven alternatives to the freeway’s expansion.

Naghavi said many of those alternatives would only find temporary fixes, including adding bus turnouts, improving signal coordination and adding lanes, which the city has done.

The seventh solution, however, stands out, Naghavi said. The cut/cover freeway under Newport Boulevard would separate local and regional traffic by providing lanes for both. It is estimated to cost about $200 million, Naghavi said.

Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry said that his city, like every other in the region, is interested in creating a solution for traffic congestion where the 55 Freeway ends.

“I think we are generally supportive of Costa Mesa’s goal to reduce the impact of the 55 terminating at 19th Street as long as they don’t simply move the traffic to Newport Beach in a way that would increase congestion on our streets,” he said.

Show Me The Money

Costa Mesa would like to see regional financial support for the project because the congestion caused by the freeway is not solely the city’s problem. The city is also actively looking for funding and grants sources to help with some of the financing, Naghavi said.

“This was forced upon the city because of regional traffic,” He said. “If we didn’t have 50,000 regional cars, we would handle our 50,000 cars with the existing facility. We think OCTA should pay for this.”

Financial help from other cities might not be easy.

Although Costa Mesa hasn’t asked yet, Curry said Newport Beach will not be able to help with the project’s finances because the city doesn’t have available resources.

Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, whose district includes Costa Mesa, said that while it’s important to find solutions to relief the congested traffic, there is no funding, especially when there are other pressing projects the transportation authority is working on. Among others, he cited the addition of four lanes to the 405 Freeway and the expansion of the 405 Freeway to the 605 Freeway.

“We’re working with the city, but with the economy today, things are not going to go as quickly,” Moorlach said.

The project is likely to take a decade to come to fruition, Naghavi said.