Road Crew, Golfers Out on Dry Day

Anticipating the next in a series of powerful winter storms, Caltrans workers hurried Monday to take advantage of a one-day dry spell to make badly needed repairs to a major county roadway.

That wasn’t good news for homebound commuters who were caught in a bottleneck Monday evening after westbound lanes of the Garden Grove Freeway in Santa Ana were closed near the Santa Ana Freeway.

Traffic backed up for five miles on the Garden Grove Freeway, between the Orange and the Costa Mesa freeways, as Caltrans crews labored from noon to 7 p.m. to fill in potholes that had developed during the last downpour.

The urgency of the Caltrans work was supported by the forecast of another storm coming from the Pacific Ocean that is expected to bring more rain to the county this afternoon.

“The rain will develop and could become heavy at times . . . before it tapers off in the afternoon Wednesday,” said Rick Dittmann, meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides weather information to The Times. He added that although Thursday should be dry, yet another storm is expected to hit the county Friday.

But for one sunny day, some Orange County residents took advantage of the lull between storms to return to pursuits that are not typically postponed for so long here.

Tracy Cleveland, assistant manager at the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach, said members started calling at 7:30 a.m. to see if the courts were dry enough to play. Fortunately, the moisture had evaporated, she said, making the courts playable for the first time in a week.

And at the Monarch Beach Golf Course, about 40 avid golfers teed off Monday, said Dave Kirkpatrick, one of the golf pros. Those who showed up to play had to walk the course. Electric carts weren’t allowed for fear they would tear up the soggy greens.

It was a good day for long drives and a miserable one for putting, Kirkpatrick noted. “You want to keep the ball in the air as long as you can,” he said.

Despite clear skies and calm seas, most people weren’t confident enough about the weather to go whale watching or fishing at Dana Point Harbor, according to the boating concessionaires.

“With weather forecasters saying one thing and then another, people didn’t know it would be this nice,” said Mike Hansen, vice president and general manager of Dana Wharf Sportfishing.

Nor were many people investing in carwashes. “The sun is out and the streets are dry, so we are open,” said Sharon Loomis, office manager at the Touchless Car Wash in Laguna Niguel. But she said only about 125 car owners had driven in, compared to 300 on a normal day.

“They were people who said they didn’t care if it rained,” Loomis said. “They said their car was so dirty they couldn’t stand it any longer.”

The road repairs caused the second closure in 12 hours of traffic lanes on the Garden Grove Freeway. Both times, the closures were in preparation for upcoming storms.

On Sunday, all eastbound lanes were closed on a mile stretch in Orange between The City Drive and the Santa Ana Freeway from 6 p.m. until after midnight so a four-foot pothole could be repaired, said Steve Saville, a Caltrans official.

Saville said it was necessary to wait for a sunny day like Monday to finish the repairs. He said the concrete-based mixture used to fill the holes takes several hours to dry and then must be pressed with a heavy roller machine.

While the lanes were closed, the Highway Patrol diverted cars from the Garden Grove Freeway, causing Santa Ana surface streets to become congested. Northbound traffic on the Orange Freeway was diverted onto West Chapman Avenue in Orange, before entering the transition to the Garden Grove Freeway, where the repairs were underway.

Rainfall Totals Since the season began July 1, Santa Ana has received nearly 10 inches of rain--more than twice the normal amount. This season: 9.71 inches Last year, same period: 4.08 inches Normal for the period: 4.70 inches The current round of storms dropped almost five inches on San Juan Capistrano. Rainfall in inches for some cities since Jan. 5: Anaheim: 3.68 inches Lake Forest: 4.66 inches Newport Beach: 3.16 inches Santa Ana: 4.60 inches San Juan Capistrano: 4.78 inches Source: WeatherData Inc.