Construction

NEWPORT BEACH — For most people, it's just a row of rocks. But for one family, the west jetty at the Newport Harbor entrance signifies foolishness, death and perseverance. Bob Rogers told its back story at a Newport Beach Historical Society event Thursday evening. On this, the 75th anniversary of the jetty's completion, he reminded people about his relative George Rogers, a man who lost his son in a boating accident and spent the rest of his life building a safe harbor opening.

Traffic is expected Monday on Pacific Coast Highway between Bayside Drive and Superior Avenue/Balboa Boulevard, officials warn. Two construction projects are slated to begin Monday and officials are recommending residents use alternative routes, according to a news release from Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Finnigan. One of the projects, by the Orange County Sanitation District, requires trenching across PCH. One lane will be open in each direction between the entrance to Balboa Bay Club and Tustin Avenue as work is done on the district's Rocky Point Pump Station.

Newport Beach traffic may be impacted while the Orange County Sanitation District performs construction on West Coast Highway. A contractor will trench across the highway starting Monday, and construction will stretch between Tustin Avenue and the Balboa Bay Club entrance, according to the district's website . The construction may take three weeks. Traffic in the area will be reduced to one lane in each direction, and noisier activities are scheduled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to reduce impact on the community, the district said.

COSTA MESA — Thieves broke into The Helm and stole construction equipment being used to transform the now-closed Newport Boulevard dive bar into a chic lounge, police said Tuesday. Costa Mesa police believe three suspects forced open a secured door and then took multiple tools from the decades-old bar. The break-in was reported to police Monday, but believed to have taken place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Police did not provide an estimated value of the stolen items. The Helm closed in August after the property owners chose to stop renting the space out to the bar. During that time, a website and Facebook page cropped up that lamented the loss of the local watering hole at 1824 Newport Blvd.

The Newport Beach Central Library will be closed — with a few exceptions — for two weeks in October during construction. The library will be closed Oct. 17 to 30 with the exception of the lobby area where residents can return books, pick up reserved items and shop in the Friends Bookstore. The Bamboo Courtyard with WiFi access will remain open and all scheduled events in the Friends Meeting Room will continue. The closure will allow for the next phase of the Library Expansion Project, which calls for the construction of a temporary wall and rearranging of shelves and library materials.

If our alien overlords ever return to Earth to check on how we lowly humans are faring, I hope they don't decide to show up during school drop-off and pick-up times. Here's what they'd find: over-caffeinated parents drag racing their SUVs to get their children to school on time; kids running across busy intersections and dodging cars in school parking lots; new teen drivers navigating bumper-to-bumper traffic and hair-raising turns as they compete for prime parking spots; and cranky neighbors who wish it would all go away.

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine will formally open its newly completed Contemporary Arts Center on Nov. 9. The long-awaited, $42.35-million building - equipped with state-of-the-art studios and spaces for displaying, staging and producing art - will be the new anchor for the art school complex. Faculty members and school and campus administrators say the center will allow the school's departments to leap ahead with early 21st century artmaking, exhibitions and research.

Coastline Community College's new $48-million campus in Newport Beach is starting to take shape. The first phase of construction - demolition, grading and installing underground utilities - is complete for the campus at 1515 Monrovia Ave. Workers have started construction on the three-story building and are expected to start on the first story's walls Friday, said Dave Cant, director of maintenance and operations. "It's actually moving along really well," he said.

While perpetually behind schedule, the Balboa Theater restoration has made strides. The city is almost done checking its building plans and officials hope to issue a permit for construction within the next month. It will be a big step that theater supporters hope will revive their fundraising and bring them closer to opening day. They hope to revive the old-time movie and vaudeville house that has been closed since 1992. Since about that time, arts advocates have been organizing and planning, but their efforts have stalled out repeatedly.

NEWPORT BEACH — Delays in ordering steel, severe winter storms and some design changes may cause the city's Civic Center construction schedule to slip, but officials don't know by how much or if it will ultimately alter the move-in date. Public Works Director Steve Badum explained these setbacks and outlined some unexpected costs in the $130-million-plus project at Tuesday's City Council study session. If the costs continue to add up, the construction manager could spend $2.8 million or more in contingency funds, but it's too early to say how much will be needed.