HUNTINGTON BEACH : Beach Boulevard Widening to Begin

A section of Beach Boulevard will be narrowed to four lanes beginning Monday while construction crews widen the street and add turn lanes to help smooth traffic flow.

The construction between the San Diego Freeway and Ellis Avenue is expected to take about four months, said Dave Webb, the city’s associate civil engineer.

When the $2.8-million project is completed, Beach Boulevard will have four lanes in each direction and synchronized traffic lights.

“The theory is to have it possible for drivers to get a green light continuously along Beach,” Webb said. “We’re also trying to inject technological advances like a device on top of the lights that emergency vehicles can trip for all green lights.”

The city is discussing with the Orange County Transportation Authority how to keep buses that usually stop on the shoulder from holding up traffic and ways to prevent the construction from affecting bus schedules.

Right-turn pockets will be added at major intersections, including where Beach Boulevard meets Warner Avenue, so cars waiting to make a right turn do not back up. Additional left-turn lanes also will be installed at some intersections to relieve congestion.

Beach Boulevard is a six-lane street with a shoulder on either side. In the widening, both the shoulders and on-street parking will be eliminated.

Webb said that the street, which is “riddled with trenches and potholes,” will be repaved using a rubberized asphalt. The rubberized asphalt, which contains recycled tires, will cut down on street noise and last longer than other paving materials, he said.

He suggested that drivers heading for the beach from the San Diego Freeway use Golden West or Magnolia streets as alternative routes during the construction.

Other good cross-town routes are Gothard and Newland streets.