Finding a Way Around Tollway Construction Traffic

Dear Street Smart:

Now that the toll road is being constructed through Laguna Canyon, I would like to voice my thoughts on the current and future traffic problems on El Toro Road and Laguna Canyon Road.

I have to wait on Laguna Canyon Road for up to 30 minutes during my drive home in the evenings from Irvine to Aliso Viejo! I suggest that no construction equipment should cross the road after 4 p.m.

A huge backup occurs in the morning and evening at El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads. I suggest creating a short access road next to the tollway between El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads, pushing traffic away from that intersection. Greg May Aliso Viejo

The interference by heavy equipment with the traffic flow on Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads has been recognized by the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies, said agencies spokeswoman Lisa Telles. To help, she said, temporary bridges are being built over both roads that construction vehicles will begin to use in mid-May.

Meanwhile, contractors are trying to stay off the roads as much as possible during heavy commuter hours, but they are unable to stop these trips entirely because of pressure to keep construction on schedule, Telles said. And take heart. You will get the access road that you request between El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads.

Telles said the road is being constructed primarily to accommodate the ramps that motorists will use to get on and off the tollway. But she said the new link also will alleviate the traffic jam at the Laguna Canyon Road/El Toro Road intersection.

Dear Street Smart: Every day I ride the bus from Costa Mesa to Santa Ana. But after the rains came, the streets were damaged and the bus was detoured to Flower Street. So now I have to walk almost half a mile to get home from the bus stop. When will this bus be back on Bristol Street? When will the streets be fixed? Harrison Katz Santa Ana

Bill Albright, an engineering aide for Santa Ana, said the $1.6-million rehabilitation of Bristol Street was planned long before this year’s rains. The rain nonetheless has greatly delayed the project, which now should be done by mid-July.

Your bus, which has been diverted off Bristol and onto Flower for 2 1/2 miles between Edinger Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, then will return to its former route, said Dee Traverzo, spokeswoman for the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Dear Street Smart:

I am sending a warning to anybody who uses the Laguna Canyon Road northbound lanes, especially after dark between Laguna Beach city limits and Irvine city limits or just north of Laguna lakes.

There are about 25 eucalyptus trees hanging over the traffic lanes. About 2 1/2 years ago, one tree snapped at the trunk. Because of poor visibility, I and four other cars smashed into the fallen tree.

At least 20 minutes passed before the Highway Patrol arrived. The report of the downed tree was called in about 10 minutes before I rammed into it. Why wasn’t the Laguna Beach Police Department called, and why didn’t 911 inform radio traffic news to warn motorists about the danger?

To this day, the trees on this stretch of road represent an even greater danger to motorists because they are larger and have more foliage. Trimming and topping would resolve the problem. Blair McManus Laguna Beach

It is unreasonable to expect to hear a warning about a road hazard on the radio only 10 minutes after it is reported to authorities, said Sgt. Bud King of the California Highway Patrol.

Normally, a motorist’s 911 call about a fallen tree on the highway will bring a Highway Patrol officer to the scene within 15 to 20 minutes, King said.

That officer will erect a roadblock to protect oncoming traffic and call maintenance authorities, in this case Caltrans, to remove the tree, King said.

And if the officer determines that it will take 15 minutes or longer to clear the highway, he will put out a traffic advisory to radio stations.

The Laguna Beach police would not have been notified of your accident, King said, because the area where it happened was outside that city’s boundaries and in an unincorporated area that the CHP patrols.

Drivers should slow down at night on a dark road like Laguna Canyon, he said, so they can hit the brakes in time to avoid a fallen tree or, for that matter, a passing deer or coyote.

“The basic speed law always applies,” King said. “Motorists are required to adjust their speed for current driving conditions. It is just common sense.”

Also, it is true the stand of trees you talk about hasn’t been trimmed in at least two years, Caltrans spokeswoman Maureena Duran-Rojas said. Pruning eucalyptus trees is purposely done as little as possible, she said, because when they are thick and lush they are less likely to fall.

“If they are trimmed too frequently, they become weakened and the more chance there is that the wind will break them,” Duran-Rojas said. So the trees are cut back, she said, only when they obstruct drivers’ views of the road.