More Road Closures in O.C. Forecast : Traffic: After a busy Thursday, street crews brace for weekend storm. They’ll be watching several probable trouble spots.
SANTA ANA — Usually the only thing Orange County commuters worry about is too many cars and too little pavement--not the weather.
But with another big storm forecast for this weekend, motorists can expect some roads to be closed as traffic flows run into mud flows.
“We’re bracing for the weekend storm that’s on the way,†said Caltrans spokesman Steve Saville. “Our traffic operations center, normally open Monday through Friday, will be kept open. . . . Maintenance crews will be on call all weekend for whatever might happen, and we have a traffic management team with portable message signs.â€
Officials say the trouble spots, based on the experience of recent days, probably will be Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Canyon Road, Carbon Canyon Road, the Santa Ana Freeway, Grand Avenue near the Santa Ana Freeway in Santa Ana, and Irvine Center Drive at the San Diego Freeway.
Also being watched carefully are Irvine Boulevard between Sand Canyon Avenue and Alton Parkway, Beach Boulevard in Buena Park, El Toro Road south of Aliso Creek Road, and the tip of Silverado Canyon Road, which dips under a natural water course by design, cutting off a private road that leads to about 10 homes.
The county’s strategy in canyon areas, according to work crew scheduler Tom Connelie, is to “patrol the problem areas frequently and remove debris from drainage ditches.â€
Although Caltrans has its own radio station to alert motorists about freeway conditions, it is used only for construction-related traffic advisories, Saville said. As a result, “we rely on the news media to get the word out, especially radio and television,†he said.
“At the beginning of this series of storms,†Saville said, “we had a lot of accidents and jackknifed trucks. But I think people in the past few days have become aware of what it’s like to drive in wet weather. I think they had forgotten somewhat because of the drought. This morning on my way to work I noticed a dramatic decrease in speeds, with drivers keeping three or four car-lengths between each other.â€
Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Robert Rivas said his department will have its search and rescue team ready to go. The team was put on alert during Wednesday’s deluge but wasn’t needed, Rivas said.
The Santa Ana Freeway through its namesake city could be a major headache, officials said, because construction work has left large areas of dirt exposed on the freeway’s shoulders.
Even after the rain had stopped Thursday, Caltrans crews were busy repairing the No. 3 lane on the southbound Santa Ana Freeway just north of Tustin Ranch Road, where there was flooding and large potholes.
Caltrans officials closed off the lane for short periods and planned to close the freeway at 11 p.m. for an all-night effort, hoping that the work would be finished by this morning’s rush hour.
Thursday morning, the southbound off-ramp from the San Diego Freeway to Irvine Center Drive was closed due to flooding, but it was reopened about 9:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
Carbon Canyon Road between Valencia Avenue and Olinda was closed for the second time in two days at noon Thursday, because of repeated mud slides.
Moulton Parkway was closed at Lake Forest Drive because of mud that washed over from the construction area at Irvine Center Drive. The street was reopened by 11:15 a.m.
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