IRVINE : Work to Start on Rail Underpass at Culver

Motorists can expect traffic snarls along Culver Drive beginning next Tuesday, when workers start building a $15.7-million railroad underpass.

The number of lanes on Culver Drive will be reduced from six to four during the two-year construction job.

City officials suggest that motorists use Jeffrey Road or Jamboree Road instead of Culver.

They are discouraging drivers from using smaller streets such as Harvard and Yale avenues.

Harvard narrows to two lanes over the railroad tracks and could easily become congested if used as an alternate route.

Yale is a residential street, and “it is our desire not to stuff it with traffic,” said Sage Davis, assistant project engineer.

When the project is completed, Culver Drive traffic will travel under the railroad tracks. Now cars must stop at the crossing when trains are passing.

The crossing has been the site of several accidents, and some residents consider the junction unsafe.

“Theoretically, there is no chance of a train collision” once the underpass is built, Davis said.

Train traffic along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks is expected to double over the next few years as commuter transit service increases.

About 70% of the funding for the underpass is being provided by outside sources, including the state.

Last month the City Council voted to issue $5 million in fixed-rate bonds to provide the rest of the money.