Caltrans Finishes Big Katella Job Early

Caltrans thought they were pushing it when they promised to build the Katella Avenue undercrossing at the Santa Ana Freeway in 10 days.

But they outdid themselves, finishing the mammoth job along one of Anaheim’s busiest streets in half the time. The road is expected to open by noon today, improving traffic flow along the congested Disneyland construction corridor.

The news was particularly good for businesses in an area hard hit by road work. The $1-billion widening of the Santa Ana Freeway has snarled traffic at the front door of Disneyland, the biggest tourist destination in Orange County with more than 13 million visitors each year.

“We’re just beside ourselves. It’s so wonderful,” said Carl Ellis, the general manager of the Peacock Suites hotel, located at ground zero. “Our guests had been going out of their minds. They couldn’t figure out how to get here.”

Getting there and to other Anaheim destinations has been hard going lately. Not only has the Santa Ana Freeway been under construction for more than two years, but work also is ongoing on city streets and the Riverside Freeway.

Transportation officials said the Katella Avenue completion may mark a turning point.

“From here on out you’re going to start to hear about things being finished, not torn up,” said John Standiford, spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority. The widening of the Santa Ana Freeway is scheduled to be completed late next year.

Caltrans workers and engineers had some practice with speed building last fall when they opened up a similar undercrossing at State College Boulevard in 30 days. At that time, no one imagined completing the Katella Avenue project in only five days. As recently as last week, area businesses were told the project could take two weeks.

The feat required round-the-clock construction but no financial incentives for the workers, officials said.

“Everything just came together,” said Dave Simpson, a community liaison for Caltrans and the county transit officials. “We had good weather and no complications.”

Simpson said it was a relief to have the job completed. At one time, planners believed building the undercrossing would close Katella for months. The street is used by 36,000 cars each day.

“It’s bad enough what we’re going through in the area,” he said. “In the few days the road was closed, I’d just look across the Santa Ana Freeway at night and it was like being on the other side of a river and not having a ferry to get across.”