HUNTINGTON BEACH : Drive On for Linking Hoover, Gothard Sts.

Residents angered by increased traffic through their neighborhood have refocused the attention of city officials on a proposal to connect Hoover and Gothard streets.

Huntington Beach and Westminster officials for a decade have considered linking the streets, now separated by a one-block gap straddling the San Diego Freeway, to make Hoover-Gothard an alternative arterial route to Beach Boulevard and Golden West Street.

But the proposal has been continually shelved because of lack of funds, opposition from residents and problems with planning.

The city councils of Huntington Beach and Westminster have said they generally support installing the connector. Staff members from the two cities recently renewed study of the project.

One factor that has revived interest in the project has been the controversy surrounding Cascade Lane. Residents on that street have complained to both cities that motorists seeking to avoid Beach or Golden West have been using their street as a shortcut. Cascade and two other residential streets form a link between Bolsa and McFadden avenues.

The city installed stop signs along Cascade to slow traffic. Residents, however, have complained that the problem persists and say the only solution will be to build the Hoover-Gothard connector.

But the project is still years away, if it is ever to be built, officials say.

Money remains a key obstacle. The project would cost an estimated $10 million, 60% of which would be needed to buy land needed for the four-lane street, said Jerry Wood, a project manager hired from IWA Engineering. The cities to date have not identified any funding source for the project.

Additionally, the Public Utilities Commission is concerned that the design for the new road calls for an existing railroad track to diagonally cross the street, a concept the commission generally opposes. Its members are also concerned that motorists may be able to drive around the railroad crossing arms. The commission is scheduled to consider the project later this month.

If the commission rejects the planned railroad crossing, the only remaining option would be for the cities to buy the railroad right of way, which would add significantly to the cost of the project, said Jim Otterson, Huntington Beach’s traffic engineer.

“If finances are tight now, that would push it even further into the future,” Otterson said.