Happy Honking Greets Freeway in Costa Mesa : Transportation: Newly opened lanes will help merchants who endured sagging sales during years of construction that tied up Newport Boulevard. Motorists and residents are jubilant.

Electrician Kenny Riggins noticed something strange Wednesday as he fiddled with traffic lights near the newly opened lanes of the Costa Mesa Freeway. “I got a lot of horns and people waving at me,” said Riggins as cars zipped by. “I think people were honking because they were glad to have it open.”

There were no anxious dignitaries, marching bands or politicians to herald the unveiling Wednesday of Orange County’s newest stretch of freeway--only Riggins, his crew and thousands of cars whizzing along.

But for the hundreds of merchants who endured years of construction tie-ups and sagging sales while the two-mile extension was built, the opening of the freeway’s new southbound lanes is significant, marking what they hope will be the end of a financial nightmare. Some, however, still fear that customers will continue to bypass them.

For commuters and beach-goers who spent hours on gridlocked Newport Boulevard, the new lanes should help ensure smoother commuting. And for Caltrans, the roadway--completed six months ahead of schedule and not a dollar over budget--is something of a triumph.

But a few kinks remain. Even with the extension, bottlenecks are expected as traffic volume on this route to the coast climbs with the thermometer. Adding to the congestion, some fear, will be Costa Mesa’s newest commercial complex, Triangle Square, a mammoth center expected to attract shoppers as well as the curious.

Caltrans officials anticipate a few weeks of problems at 19th Street where the freeway ends, spokesman Steve Seville said. The worst traffic is expected during the July 4 weekend, “but we believe that will pretty much eliminate itself in a week or two as traffic volumes drop.”

In its day, the ditch that is now home to the $50-million four-lane freeway was jokingly called the Costa Mesa Panama Canal. Now, where field mice and coyotes once roamed, the highway gently rolls into the heart of Costa Mesa’s business district before ending at 19th Street.

When the project was conceived several decades ago, it was intended to link Coast Highway with the San Diego Freeway. But money and enthusiasm dried up, leaving just the project that got underway in 1989 with the construction of the first stretch of freeway from Arlington Drive to Fairview Road.

Next week the northbound side is slated to open, officially completing the second phase of the project from Del Mar Avenue to 19th Street. For many of the businesses lining Newport Boulevard, it is welcome news.

“Thank God it is open. That is all I can say,” said Randy Garell, owner of The Grant Boys, which sells camping and outdoor gear. “It is going to make life easier for everyone down here.”

Mike Fleming, executive director of the Downtown Merchants Assn., the watchdog group formed to help companies stay afloat during the construction, was a little more cautious. “I am excited but I am not jumping for joy yet,” said Fleming. “We really need to re-educate people to bring them back into this area.”

In fact, during more than three years of construction, the stretch of commercial turf along the freeway was viewed by many consumers as a place to avoid. For merchants, the construction project, which shut down parts of Newport Boulevard to make room for the widening, combined with the recession to act as an economic double-whammy.

A “hit list” kept by the association names the casualties: Clothing stores, stationery shops, even ABC Lumber, a longtime business folded during the freeway expansion. Traffic counts on Newport Boulevard plummeted from 80,000 a day to about 35,000.

Some businesses that line the rim of the freeway still fear that people won’t come back. “I am cautiously optimistic,” said John Ursini, manager of Newport Rib Company, where business is off about 20%. “It is too early to know.”

Commuters who took their first spin on the new pavement Wednesday had nothing but praise. It is being hailed as a vital route for people in central Orange County to reach the beach cities.

“I am going to save at least 10 minutes getting to work,” said Marion Satterfield, who travels every day from Tustin to his job at Newport Jet Ski. “I think the freeway is going to do nothing but help.”

Residents near the freeway were also thankful. “I am very happy about it,” said Tina Nixon, who endured increased traffic in her neighborhood as commuters searched for routes around the construction zone.

Caltrans officials, meanwhile, were breathing a sigh of relief as cars moved without tie-ups on opening day for the route. Not even the expected bottlenecks at 19th Street materialized.

But not all welcomed that news. Some, including Fleming of the Merchants Assn., said a traffic jam in downtown Costa Mesa wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

“That would be a nice problem to have,” he said. “I welcome the day when we have parking problems again.”