Improvements on Way for Two Traffic Trouble Spots

Dear Street Smart:

There are two particular locations that I wonder if anyone is doing anything to improve so far as traffic is concerned. One is the connector between the Garden Grove Freeway and the Costa Mesa Freeway southbound.

Two lanes on the Garden Grove Freeway merge into one on the connector itself and that lane merges into the right lane of the Costa Mesa Freeway. It hardly makes any difference what time of day or night one travels it, everything slows down. During business hours, traffic frequently comes to a total halt.

With all of the millions of dollars of highway improvements being done now, I see no evidence that anything is being or will be done about this particular problem. Do you have any information on it?

The second spot is Beach Boulevard in Buena Park. From Manchester Boulevard to Stage Road, it has always been a mess during rush hour in the evening, but traffic improves from there going north on Beach because the road widens out. On Beach, two lanes in some places and one lane in others going each direction have been closed between Stage Road and Rosecrans Avenue--which was the only part that always moved easily--for alleged widening.

That doesn’t seem to make any sense at all. Why didn’t they start with the worst part--between Manchester and Stage? Now, the always-slow travel between Manchester and Stage is still slow, but continues to be slow on up to Rosecrans.

Sylvia Paoli Tustin A widening project on the Costa Mesa Freeway between 17th Street and the Garden Grove Freeway is currently in the design stages, and construction is scheduled to start in early 1995, said Caltrans spokeswoman Rose Orem.

This project will include the addition of a traffic lane in each direction plus longer on-ramps.

The eastbound Garden Grove Freeway connector to the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway also will be reconstructed for better traffic flow, Orem said.

The Beach Boulevard Smart Street Project, adopted by the Orange County Transportation Authority in December, 1992, is divided into several segments. Ultimately, the project will extend from Ellis Avenue in Huntington Beach to Imperial Highway in La Habra, Orem said.

The segment from the Riverside Freeway to Stage Road will undergo pavement repair and re-striping to provide three travel lanes in each direction, Orem said. Construction is expected to be completed by June, 1995, said Orem.

The segment from Stage Road to Hillsboro Drive will undergo repaving, road widening and re-striping to provide three travel lanes in each direction. Construction began this June and is expected to be done by next June.

The Smart Street project is a collaborative effort of Caltrans, OCTA, the county and the cities along Beach Boulevard.

Dear Street Smart:

I would like to bring to your attention an area that I believe presents a problem to motorists. It is 17th Street in Tustin going west near Yorba Street. There is a long left turn onto the on-ramp to the southbound Costa Mesa Freeway, and at night it is impossible to see exactly where to turn. The area is very dark and I was wondering if there was some way to light this up so the actual turn is easier to see.

Thelma Ricketts Balboa Part of the Costa Mesa Freeway widening project will be the installation of new lighting and the upgrade of existing lighting on 17th Street leading to the freeway. Currently in the design stages, construction on this project is not expected to begin until 1995.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to Caroline Lemke, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.