Dicey Dance: The 55/22

When it comes to unclogging the notoriously jammed confluence of the Costa Mesa and Garden Grove freeways, commuters such as Rob Silva complain that the cure is worse than gridlock itself.

Every day for almost two years, Silva and more than 100,000 other drivers have negotiated an obstacle course of construction barriers, crash barrels, detours, road closures and narrowed lanes that resemble concrete cattle chutes.

The work is part of a larger $118-million mission to improve flow on the Costa Mesa Freeway. The deadline for work on the one interchange is June. The Caltrans prediction for finishing it early, by last November, has been changed twice, now to March.

“Instead of being super early, we’re just going to be a little early,” Caltrans spokeswoman Sandra Friedman said.

Still, the project’s duration has irked drivers such as Silva, who can hit delays of up to 30 minutes in the mess. And local officials say the detours have put a heavy strain on roads.

Critics say Caltrans might have blundered by not including a cash incentive for the contractor to finish earlier. Caltrans officials say the delays are due to a series of circumstances beyond their control.

But the conditions that make for hazardous driving continue, said Silva, especially on the narrow ramp connecting the southbound Costa Mesa and westbound Garden Grove freeways.

“Dude, it’s ludicrous dangerous,” said Silva, a daily interchange commuter and manager of Sid’s Tattoo Parlor, one of many businesses bordering it. “People are speeding from the 55 to get to the 22 and suddenly they’re slamming on their brakes. The lanes are too narrow and everybody slows to a stop. Our customers are complaining about it all the time. It just stinks.”

Others complain about the 16-month closure of the ramp connecting the northbound Costa Mesa and the westbound Garden Grove. The detour route along 17th Street and Tustin Avenue is frequently congested, which some say has led to collisions involving drivers who make U-turns or other maneuvers to escape the crush.

“It’s been a hassle,” said Rhonda Thaut, an employee of World of Wigs, on 17th Street. “It’s been a long time and we’ve seen a lot of accidents. There’s probably one a week.”

Payment incentives to finish early were used for parts of the massive Santa Ana Freeway expansion, and for the Red Hill Avenue bridge replacement project in Costa Mesa. That span, which crosses the San Diego Freeway, was demolished and reconstructed in nine months.

Incentives increase the cost of a contract, which Caltrans officials say they were reluctant to do in this latest project.

“When you put too many restrictions on a contract, it jacks up the price,” said Hamid Bahadori, an engineer for the city of Orange, where the interchange work is being done.

While there have been significant effects on his city, Bahadori said the work is needed.

“Obviously, we’re anxious to see the freeway improvements done as soon as possible,” he said. “They’ve created delays at intersections that are not designed to handle this excess traffic.”

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Caltrans officials say a series of natural and man-made circumstances have caused the delays: the state’s electricity crisis, which stymied production of paving asphalt; unusually rocky terrain that slowed installation of support pilings; and rain.

The contractor, Brutoco Engineering and Construction of Fontana, would not comment on the project.

The interchange is one of four construction zones in the 55 North Improvement project, a six-mile stretch of the Costa Mesa Freeway between the Garden Grove and Riverside freeways. Overall, the project will add one new traffic lane in each direction and widen existing lanes.

Improvements being made at the Costa Mesa-Garden Grove interchange will cost roughly $20.5 million and are intended to keep drivers from weaving in and out of lanes in an attempt to exit or connect to ramps.

The eastbound interchange had been regarded as one of the county’s worst, with traffic often slowing to 25 mph or less at rush hour. The improved ramps should allow drivers to cruise through at 55 to 60 mph, according to Mahir Osman, a Caltrans engineer.

Among other changes, Caltrans is building a two-lane underpass connecting the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway to the westbound Garden Grove Freeway, a connection that has been closed for more than a year.

Caltrans has also built a separate northbound Chapman Avenue offramp to whisk motorists away from through traffic and deposit them on Chapman without forcing them to jockey for position.

“These sort of improvements go far beyond what are basic requirements,” said Osman, who bristles at suggestions that the project is not moving fast enough.

“When we are finished, there will be no delays whatsoever. It will be a much more comfortable ride and there will be less weaving. The improvements we’re making here are so good that I’m going to drive this interchange even if I don’t have to.”

While commuters and others may question whether the project has taken too long, Caltrans officials say the widening of the Costa Mesa Freeway required major changes to existing ramps. Contract incentives are not needed, they said.

“If you throw money at a contractor and demand the same quality work that you would demand on any project, then you’re making a compromise,” Osman said. “Besides, the contractor has all the incentive he needs to finish early: It reduces his overhead.”

Osman added that if the contractor doesn’t meet the June deadline, the penalty is $1,200 a day.

In the end, Caltrans officials say, criticism of projects such as this one stems from drivers wanting, impossibly, the best of both worlds.

“This happens an awful lot,” Friedman said. “People say they don’t want traffic congestion, but then again they don’t want the construction. What are we going to do?”