Drivers Relieved by New, Wide 55

Overcoming construction delays and unexpected engineering problems, Caltrans on Thursday completed a $118-million project to rebuild and widen the northern six miles of the Costa Mesa Freeway.

The roadwork includes a redesigned connection from the Garden Grove Freeway to the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway that eliminates a notorious stretch where traffic merged at the Chapman Avenue offramp in Orange.

“I used to dread that drive up the 55 to the 91,” said Rob Silva, who took the rebuilt highway for the first time on Thursday to get to work in Santa Ana. “I think it is going to work out fine.”

Caltrans, which began construction on the northern section in January 1999, widened the Costa Mesa Freeway from eight to 10 lanes--adding one lane in each direction--between the Garden Grove and Riverside freeways.

Entrances and exits were enlarged to at least two lanes and in some areas to three, such as at Katella Avenue. Overpasses and underpasses for city streets also were widened.

Every day, roughly 210,000 motorists travel that part of the Costa Mesa Freeway, which, combined with the Riverside Freeway, is one of the main arteries between Orange County and the Inland Empire.

“The congestion that was there no longer exists,” said Arshad Rashedi, a senior engineer for Caltrans who worked on the project.

At the interchange of the Garden Grove and Costa Mesa freeways, the northbound Chapman Avenue offramp was separated from the northbound entrance to the Costa Mesa Freeway. Caltrans officials say problems caused by motorists trying to get on and off the freeway at the same place should be greatly reduced.

The eastbound interchange had been regarded as one of the county’s worst, with traffic often slowing to 25 mph or less during morning and evening rush hours. Engineers predict the new ramps should allow normal cruising speeds of 55 to 60 mph.

“Sometimes it would take me 20 minutes just to transition to the 55 and get to Katella,” said Frank Beels of Orange, who owns a gas- and welding-supply company in Huntington Beach. “The project is worth that change alone.”

Beels estimated that the improvements to the Costa Mesa Freeway have reduced his rush-hour trips about 10 minutes each way.

The project, however, was not without its problems. During construction, motorists complained that the detours and ramp closures caused grinding traffic jams and severe congestion on surrounding city streets.

“It was really frustrating for a while,” said Silva, who manages Sid’s Tattoo Parlor, one of many businesses along the freeway. . “I’d get off work to drive home and the ramps to the highway would all be closed.”

The completion dates for several parts of the project--including the $20.5-million interchange of the Garden Grove and Costa Mesa freeways--were repeatedly delayed, prompting the Orange County Transportation Authority to pressure Caltrans to get the project back on schedule.

County Supervisor and OCTA board member Todd Spitzer said he and authority officials went to Caltrans last fall when it looked like the work would not be finished on time. “The project was not progressing as promised by Caltrans and we tried to get their attention,” said Spitzer, whose district includes the northern Costa Mesa Freeway. . “These are our tax dollars at work. Well, where was the work?”

Caltrans blamed the delays on a series of unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances, such as the electricity crisis, which stymied the production of asphalt, and unusually rocky terrain that slowed the installation of pilings.

“We basically finished on time and on budget,” said Rashedi. “But during construction, some of our milestones were delayed. There were utility problems and we had to redesign some of the bridges because of unexpected subsurface boulders.”

The state provided $92 million for the project, while OCTA allocated about $21 million from Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation projects. The city of Orange contributed $5 million for work at Katella Avenue and overpasses at La Veta and Meats avenues.