Ramp Shut Down for Reconstruction Work : Transportation: Key transition lanes linking the Garden Grove and Santa Ana freeways are closed for a year.

A key transition ramp linking the Garden Grove and Santa Ana freeways was shut down Tuesday for a one-year period to make way for reconstruction of the intersection, causing confusion for many motorists.

But the monumental traffic jam authorities had feared failed to materialize.

State transportation officials said freeway congestion was actually less severe than normal Tuesday afternoon at the freeway connector leading into the so-called Orange Crush intersection, a traffic-choked knot of concrete connecting the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways.

“It’s much better than typical,” said Joe El-Harake, a Caltrans spokesman. “People seem to be finding their way around the closure.”

Traffic on the eastbound Garden Grove Freeway often backs up during the evening as far as Beach Boulevard, 7 miles east of the intersection, El-Harake said. On Tuesday afternoon, however, the queue of cars was less than a mile long at 5 p.m., he said.

The transition lanes leading from the eastbound Garden Grove Freeway to the southbound Santa Ana Freeway were closed at 9:30 a.m. as construction crews prepare to rebuild the entire intersection to make way for widening work on the Santa Ana Freeway.

Although the closure did not seem to be causing too many headaches on the freeway, it has prompted concern among some residents of nearby neighborhoods in northern Santa Ana, who fear that hordes of cars will spill onto residential streets.

Residents appealed Tuesday to city officials during a meeting at City Hall for the installation of traffic barriers at most entrances into their residential neighborhood--bounded by Bristol Street on the west, 17th Street on the south, Broadway on the east, and Memory Lane, Sherwood Lane and the Santa Ana Freeway on the north--in order to discourage commuters from speeding through the area.

Most heavily impacted, the group said, is Santa Clara Avenue, which has seen an additional 2,000 cars a day since construction began at the Orange Crush a few weeks ago. The problem was expected to worsen after Tuesday’s closure.

Commuters, they claim, are avoiding the detour set up by Caltrans that directs traffic south on Bristol to 17th.

“I don’t mind my neighbors going past my house,” Santa Clara Avenue resident Pat Heike said, “but commuter traffic is very disrespectful. They simply don’t care. I don’t want them in my neighborhood any more if they cannot behave. I just want them to go away.”

But businesses in the area, such as those in the MainPlace/Santa Ana mall, would be hurt by the traffic barriers and they oppose the plan. Jim Ross, city director of public works, warned that unless the concerns of everyone in the neighborhood are addressed, the plan will have difficulty mustering council support.

Meantime, public works staffers said they will install “local traffic only” signs at Santa Clara Avenue and increase the “green time” on Bristol Street lights to encourage commuters to stay on that street.

Times staff writer Lily Dizon contributed to this story.