Construction Underway on Freeway Interchange

Construction of an $87.5-million widening and retooling project at the interchange of the San Diego and Corona del Mar freeways began this week in an effort to ease traffic snarls.

Much of the construction, expected to continue through 2003, is aimed at modifying access ramps at the interchange to reduce the tangle of cars exiting and entering the freeways in the same lanes.

Four lanes and a new connector road will be built as part of the project, which will be completed in four construction phases.

The interchange, which handles 280,000 cars daily, is expected to accommodate 340,000 cars by 2020.

Tuesday night, workers closed the southbound Corona del Mar Freeway to re-stripe lanes in preparation for the start of construction next week on a new southbound lane from the San Diego Freeway to Birch Street. The lane, which will cost $1.5 million, should be finished in September.

In July, workers will start building a $7.3-million connector road that links the northbound Corona del Mar freeway to the southbound Costa Mesa freeway. In August, work will start on a $3.9-million auxiliary lane for entering and exiting the San Diego Freeway between Harbor Boulevard and Euclid Street.

Most of this summer’s construction work will be done at night, but narrowed lanes and limited daytime construction will probably cause delays for motorists during rush hour. The final phase of construction, scheduled to begin in December 2000, is likely to cause traffic jams, he added.