Sewer line to get a facelift along Dover Drive

It’s going to be a long haul of a project in the months ahead for Dover Drive.

An Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) sewer-replacement project along the 1.3-mile Newport Beach street will replace an aging county sewer line with a modern, high-capacity one. It’s scheduled to begin in late June and finish around July 2014.

A portion of a Newport Beach city waterline is also scheduled for replacement as part of the project.

Officials said preliminary work on the Dover Drive Trunk Sewer Relief effort should begin this month. The project will have five phases to replace the existing 15- to 18-inch line with a 24-inch line that can better handle the area’s needs.

The Dover project is one of at least 5 planned for Newport-Mesa throughout the next few years. OCSD officials held a community meeting Saturday morning at the Mariners Branch of the Newport Beach library system to discuss the Dover project.

“There will be impacts,” said Jennifer Cabral, principal staff analyst with the OCSD. “There’s going to be noise. There’s going to be dust. There’s going to congestion. There’s going to be traffic.

“But in the end, you’re going to have $90 million worth of brand-new sewers.”

Martin Dix, an OCSD project manager, said the existing sewer line was built in 1952 and had about a 50-year life span, adding that it is in poor condition.

“If we back up, then we back up the city systems, which can then overflow into city streets,” Dix said. “And we don’t want that to happen.”

Residents in the affected area have been alerted of the plans, Cabral said. About 11,000 direct mailers were sent out, and OCSD’s website has information on the project.

The first construction phase, from June 24 to Aug. 26, affects the section of Dover Drive between Irvine Avenue and Mariners Drive. The work will be from approximately 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is scheduled first as to not adversely impact nearby Mariners Elementary School, whose students will be on summer break.

The second phase, from September to November, is on Dover from Coast Highway to Cliff Drive. It will involve overnight and daytime work.

The third phase is Cliff Drive to 16th Street, from November to January 2014, and the fourth will affect 16th to Westcliff Drive from January 2014 to March 2014. Those two phases will have daytime work.

The fifth and longest phase, from March 2014 to July 2014, is the remaining portion of Dover, from Westcliff to Mariners. Eton Place and Harrow Place — two cul-de-sacs whose only access is from Dover — will have special setups so those residents will be able to access their homes.

The final phase will involve both daytime and nighttime work.

Officials said there may be unanticipated construction delays. Dover will also be repaved after the construction phases are complete.

Work will typically take place Monday through Friday, with occasional Saturday construction as well.

Residents are urged to use a special email address and hotline for information or to relay concerns: constructionhotline@ocsd.com and (714) 378-2965. There will also be up-to-date information on https://www.ocsewers.com.