ORANGE : County May Renege on Share of Road Project

The city may have to finish a joint city-county project to widen Santiago Canyon Road on its own because of the county’s bankruptcy, City Manager David F. Dixon said. “If the county can’t commit to their share, we’ll have to do it ourselves or exclude the county portion of the project, and I’m not sure that would be wise,� Dixon said at a recent budget meeting.

The city had expected the county to split the cost of the project, which will widen the road from two lanes to four. The county had agreed because the road snakes over city land and unincorporated areas.

But the county’s share of $800,000 for the first phase of the work is still outstanding. The county owes the city $1.9 million for reimbursement of public works projects and other revenue, Dixon said. But that money has been held up because of the bankruptcy.

That first phase of construction, which was completed in November, widened Santiago Canyon Road from Newport Boulevard to Linda Vista Street.

The county had agreed to pay $555,000 of the $755,000 contract for the second phase of the work, which will take the road over county land, said Public Works Director Harry W. Thomas. The city share of the second phase should have been $200,000, he added. Contractors were scheduled to begin work on the project’s second phase next week, but the Public Works Department asked them to delay the start date for 60 to 90 days, Thomas said.