COSTA MESA : Newport Boulevard Section to Reopen
A traffic bottleneck should be eased today as state transportation officials reopen a section of southbound Newport Boulevard that had been limited to one lane for construction work on the Costa Mesa Freeway.
Authorities said all three southbound lanes were to be open by 5 a.m. between Victoria and 19th streets.
In recent months, a flood of cars from the freeway had combined with traffic headed south on Newport Boulevard to create monumental tie-ups where the road funneled down to just one lane.
Construction crews had to reduce the boulevard’s southbound stretch to a single lane to erect a concrete retaining wall that will allow completion of the final phase of the freeway.
Businesses along the route had complained about the traffic, saying it kept customers away and inconvenienced those who came by.
“It’s going to help, but it’s not going to solve the problem completely,” said Steve Saville, a Caltrans spokesman.
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