Caltrans

A routine Caltrans maintenance project at the start of the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway caused traffic backups on Newport Boulevard on Tuesday and Wednesday. The ramp was closed fro approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, and traffic on northbound Newport Boulevard was detoured through Harbor Boulevard. According to Caltrans officials, it was routine maintenance work that involves replacing the asphalt on the onramp. "This is something we do from time to time," said Sandy Friedman, spokeswoman for Caltrans.

Alicia Robinson Cleaner water could filter into Orange County because of an agreement by the state Department of Transportation to install filters and other pollution controlling methods along highways around the state. The agreement, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, was the result of a lawsuit filed in 1993 against Caltrans by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica BayKeeper. The suit alleged that Caltrans didn't do enough to stop pollution in highway runoff in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and thus violated the Clean Water Act. Newport Beach activist Garry Brown, executive director of CoastKeeper, hopes to use the decision to strengthen his fight against Caltrans.

Herman I. Kimmel Herman I. Kimmel passed away on April 5, 2013. He was born in 1923 and attended local schools in Eagle Rock and Pasadena. He leaves a wife of 34 years, Sharon Baker Kimmel, formerly of Choteau, Montana, and a nephew, David Kimmel of Pasadena. Following service with the U.S. Navy he attended UCLA and majored in Business Administration. Herman was a Registered Traffic Engineer in the state of California where he actively engaged in traffic engineering for more than 40 years.

Elia Powers When Costa Mesa lawyer George Cote bought a home near the San Diego (405) Freeway, he never thought he'd have to deal with this. A Caltrans sign alerting freeway drivers to merge left was planted sometime Thursday on the inside of a sound wall that separates his backyard from the freeway. Cote and his wife, Becky Cote, were out of the house at the time. The couple didn't notice the sign that night, but Becky Cote did when she walked to the backdoor window Friday morning and saw it sticking out from the wall.

The California Department of Transportation and the Orange County Transportation Authority will host the first of four public meetings Monday in Costa Mesa to discuss the possible widening of the San Diego (405) Freeway, a project that could stretch into the city limits. Monday's meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Orange Coast College Student Center, 2701 Fairview Road. The public will get a chance to learn about the proposed widening options and comment on the draft environmental impact report available online . To date, the most attractive option for OCTA officials appears to be the third choice, which would widen the 405 between the San Gabriel (605)

June Casagrande Members of the business community have their fingers crossed that a meeting today between city staff and Caltrans officials will be the final step in three years of negotiations to take over East Coast Highway from Jamboree Road to Newport Coast Drive. "We're hoping this will be the final meeting," said Don Glasgow, a member of the Corona del Mar Business Improvement District. The district initiated the push to get the city to take over the stretch of Coast Highway as part of the Vision 2004 revitalization plan.

Deirdre Newman Construction problems on a carpool connector between the San Diego and the Costa Mesa Freeways inspired the Orange County Transportation Authority to examine its management approach. It hired an independent assessment team to study the relationship between the authority, Caltrans and a variety of third party contractors on recent construction projects. The authority board received an action plan based on the study on Aug. 25 and directed its staff to work with Caltrans on the recommendations.

Alicia Robinson A new park is in the city's future, though it's not certain how soon that future will arrive. City officials are close to drafting a lease with the state for 15 acres at the intersection of Coast Highway and Superior Avenue. Caltrans owns the property, but plans are underway to transfer it to the state parks department, which will lease it to Newport Beach. The city has wanted for some time to turn the vacant land into Sunset Ridge Park, but officials first had to get state legislation passed to transfer the land and reimburse Caltrans for $1.35 million, which is about what the transportation agency originally paid for the parcel, Newport Beach City Councilman Steve Rosansky said.