ORANGE : City to Study Adding Off-Ramps Near Mall

The City Council has agreed to consider adding off-ramps near the Orange Mall when the Costa Mesa Freeway is widened in coming years.

Council members last week authorized a $15,000 engineering study for the project, which would cost as much as $15 million, according to staff estimates. The city probably would have to cover at least half the cost, Public Works Director Harry W. Thomas said.

Even though the freeway widening is five to seven years away, Thomas said at a council study session, now is the time to do the engineering designs for ramps.

Consultants are already designing a wider Meats Avenue bridge over the freeway, he said, and those plans would have to be modified if they were to add access ramps. The engineers could also design a bridge that would accommodate ramps if the city could not afford to build them immediately, he said.

Modifying the designs now would save about $3.5 million in future construction costs, city engineers estimated.

The bridge itself will be widened from two lanes to four as part of the freeway project.

The ramps would relieve congested traffic at the intersection of Lincoln and Katella avenues, Thomas said.