Traffic Won’t Be Taking a Holiday This Weekend

Travelers in Orange County took to the highways, the air and the water Friday, beginning a Labor Day weekend expected to see both near-perfect weather and crowds everywhere people go for fun.

Traffic’s “going to get continuously bad as it does every Labor Day, it being the last day of the summer,” California Highway Patrol Officer Don Coney said.

By 1:40 p.m. Friday, four crashes had already occurred on the county’s freeways, signaling to the CHP that drivers had indeed begun their holiday trips.

Most of the harbor patrol deputies for the Sheriff’s Department will be working the water, where sailors are expected to be drawn by the warm weather. “It will be nice and sunny, so people should just pay attention to normal marine safety,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Andy Decker said.

High temperatures for Orange County today through Monday should range from the mid-70s to the low 80s, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. Lows should be from the mid-50s to the low 60s each night.

“It will be sunny during the day with low clouds only at late night or very early morning; quite pleasant, definitely ideal to get out to the beach,” Burback said.

Based on the forecast, lifeguards are braced for the crowds at the county’s shores, including Aliso Creek Beach, which was reopened Friday after a sewage spill earlier in the week. Health officials had closed the beach to swimmers when about 80,000 gallons of treated sewage spilled into the ocean Wednesday. On Friday, “test results showed there was no contamination” and the beach was reopened at 1 p.m., said Robert Merryman, the county’s director of environmental health.

Beach-goers and others should remember to be patient on the road, CHP Officer Lyle Whitten said.

“Take your time, and don’t get in a hurry. Those in a hurry are the ones that get into accidents,” Whitten said. He also urged everyone to wear seat belts.

About 80% of CHP personnel will work all three days.

Drunk-driving arrests during three-day weekends usually increase by about 75%, Whitten said. Last year, 116 people were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving during the Labor Day weekend, Whitten said.

Amtrak and John Wayne Airport officials said Friday that holiday travelers were already in evidence.

“We’ve noticed the usual holiday traffic building up since this morning,” Amtrak spokesman Bruce Heard said Friday. Amtrak is running all available cars during the holiday.