Palm Trees to Adorn Freeway Terminus

An $873,000 landscape project at the terminus of the Costa Mesa Freeway will eventually include the planting of palm and flowering trees, vines and native shrubs.

The Caltrans project, to which the city contributed $20,000, is designed to complement the current downtown landscaping.

The most visible new plantings are palm trees in a 60-foot-wide median at the intersection of 19th Street and the freeway, at the entrance to the city. Palms have also been planted along Newport Boulevard, above the retaining walls of the freeway.

The new palm trees fit well with the many palms along downtown streets, like those in front of Triangle Square, parks commissioner John De Witt said. Caltrans worked with the city to develop a compatible landscaping plan.