Artesia Freeway Next in Line for Overhaul

Residents already braced for construction projects on Beach Boulevard and the Santa Ana Freeway should prepare for yet more vehicular inconvenience.

As early as next month, they will start seeing the first phases of a major overhaul of the Artesia Freeway, according to officials with Caltrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority.

“There are a lot of construction projects going on in Buena Park,” said Jodi Sorrell, senior community relations specialist for the project. “The next 2 1/2 years will not be totally painless, but they’ll be as painless as we can make it.”

As Sorrell told City Council members during a presentation Monday, OCTA and Caltrans have learned to head off residential criticism with a blitz of information.

Businesses, homeowners and tenants can call a help line number to find out what ramps are closing and what streets can expect heavy traffic. The agencies eventually plan to have a Web page on the Internet that will be updated daily. The help number, (714) 724-2077, is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has a message center during nighttime hours.

They already have started meetings with businesses and city officials to coordinate closings so no two ramps in a row will ever close, for example, Sorrell said.

The $180-million project, funded largely with voter-approved sales tax money, will add a continuous carpool lane, modify crossovers and improve the interchange with the Orange Freeway.

Other cities directly affected by the work include Anaheim, Cerritos, Fullerton, La Palma and Placentia.