Traffic Will Get Worse on 2 Freeways : Chaos on Santa Ana, Costa Mesa Expected From Large Projects

After mailing alternative road maps to 88,000 homes in Irvine, Tustin and Santa Ana, Caltrans officials launched a public relations campaign Tuesday to warn commuters that traffic chaos along the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways is about to get worse as workers begin major construction projects.

At a so-called Mobility Workshop, transportation officials pleaded with representatives from more than 150 companies to encourage their employees to car-pool and avoid the freeways altogether.

“It is no secret that traffic congestion will get worse as Caltrans construction efforts gear up along the I-5 corridor,” said Keith McKean, director of Caltrans in Orange County.

Work Under Way

Caltrans has already begun work to expand the interchange where the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways meet in Tustin. And by August work should be under way to widen the Santa Ana from six lanes to 12 lanes between that interchange and the El Toro “Y.”

Over the next decade, the Santa Ana will be widened all the way north to the San Gabriel River Freeway.

Also, Caltrans has already or is about to start construction on the off-ramps and overpasses at Jamboree Road, Tustin Ranch Road and Jeffrey Road on the Santa Ana, as well as Warner Avenue and McFadden Street on the Costa Mesa Freeway.

All of the construction will have a “significant impact on local surface streets” as traffic is rerouted, McKean said.

James Reichert, general manager of the Orange County Transit District, said officials hope to remove between 700 and 1,000 vehicles, or 5% of the traffic, from the Santa Ana Freeway by encouraging new car pools, van pools and increased usage of the OCTD buses. Another 5% could be eliminated with the use of surface streets, officials said.

To avoid the freeway construction, officials suggest that drivers detour north of the Santa Ana by using Irvine Boulevard and Bryan Avenue as alternative routes. On the south side, officials suggest using Edinger Avenue, Irvine Center Drive or Alton Parkway. The combination of Red Hill Avenue to Barranca Parkway to Jamboree Road can function as alternatives to the Costa Mesa Freeway.

‘User Smart’ Drivers

Drivers will have to be “user smart” and learn how to minimize freeway use, travel at off-peak hours, learn alternative routes to work and shopping, McKean said. The key traffic solution is to get as many people out of single occupancy cars and into van or car pools, McKean said.

Caltrans officials will try to “keep three lanes open during rush hour” and two lanes open during off-peak hours, said Joseph Hecker, the agency’s traffic management chief. But Hecker said officials anticipate that even then traffic will slow as drivers gawk at the construction.

By December specially marked tow trucks, Orange Angels, will patrol the freeway to see that accidents and stalled vehicles are quickly cleared away in the I-5 construction zone, Hecker said. Caltrans will also build six electronic message signs on the two freeways to alert drivers to changing conditions, and will broadcast traffic conditions and construction news on the radio (frequency 530 AM).

High Occupancy Lanes

Eventually, all the freeways coming into Orange County will have “high occupancy vehicle” lanes, including some that will be separated from other traffic by barriers, Reichert said. Officials believe that employees who van-pool in these lanes will be able to cut their commuting time by 15 to 20 minutes each way.