City Council OKs $1M study of 55 Freeway

The Costa Mesa City Council has agreed to cooperate with the Orange County Transportation Authority on a $1-million project study into the expansion of the 55 Freeway at its Newport Boulevard terminus.

The City Council voted 5 to 0 last week to enter into the agreement with OCTA. The study would examine four options that the agency could use to expand the freeway and unclog traffic bottlenecks where the 55 now ends at the intersection of Newport Boulevard and 19th Street.

An earlier study came up with seven options for the expansion, which have since been narrowed down to four, said Peter Naghavi, Costa Mesa’s public services director.

The agreement gives the city the authority to handle outreach efforts and the part of the study that analyses how an expansion would impact local businesses, said Naghavi, who is spearheading the project for the city.

OCTA will provide most of the funding, according to a Costa Mesa staff report. Costa Mesa will pay up to $100,000 in money the city obtained through a grant program from OCTA, Naghavi said.