1989: THE YEAR AHEAD : TRANSPORTATION : Construction Work to Be in High Gear

Orange County commuters will encounter construction on a bewildering array of transportation improvements in 1989. Work will take place on several major freeway projects, a new train station, the new airport terminal and even a short monorail line.

Most of the action will be on the county’s oft-jammed freeways, where drivers will see work toward:

* Completion of new car-pool lanes on the San Diego Freeway from Costa Mesa to Seal Beach.

* Widening of the Santa Ana Freeway from the junction of Interstate 405 in Irvine to the Costa Mesa Freeway interchange in Tustin.

* Extension of the Costa Mesa Freeway from Costa Mesa into Newport Beach, along Newport Boulevard.

* Major reconstruction of the Santa Ana-Garden Grove freeway interchange.

* Grading and possibly some pouring of concrete on the planned San Joaquin Hills tollway or a short stretch of the Foothill tollway.

Elsewhere, there will be initial construction of the privately funded monorail line linking McDonnell-Douglas Plaza with John Wayne Airport, construction of the new “multi-modal” transportation center and Amtrak station in Irvine and steel framing of the new John Wayne Airport passenger terminal.

In the board rooms of county transportation planners, officials may decide in 1989 to place a half-cent sales tax for transit and highway projects on a countywide ballot, although they may not schedule the voting until 1990 or later. Work is also expected in 1989 on the proposed merger of the Orange County Transit District, the Orange County Transportation Commission and related agencies.

Back on the road, commuters may find themselves in good--or bad--company as mandatory car-pool regulations adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District take effect. The new rules require employers of 100 workers or more to submit plans to the agency for achieving an average of between 1.3 and 1.5 passengers per vehicle.