Roadwork Through Memorial Day To Affect Laguna Drivers, Stores

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Crosstown traffic may be a problem between April and May in Laguna Beach thanks to a 24-hour a day CalTrans improvement project on South Coast Highway.

The South Coast Highway CalTrans project would take place between the movie theater and Main Beach, from early April to Memorial Day, according to the city manager's office.

Caltrans has said that workers will shut the road down to one lane in each direction, and roadwork will take place in either 8-hour workdays or 16-hour workdays (two 8 hour shifts). It is not believed that roadwork will continue overnight, as of this report.

"Caltrans has agreed to provide traffic control for the project area. However, I'm concerned just controlling traffic at those two intersections won't be enough," City Manager John Pietig said during the meeting. He has asked for five additional traffic control areas that would need to be addressed.

The cost would be handled by the city, and would not exceed $216,400. Additional traffic control was unanimously agreed upon during the council session.

"Worst case scenario is too much traffic control," Pietig said. "That's never a bad thing in Laguna Beach.

Roadwork is slated to run from April 1 through May 31 on South Coast Highway from Broadway to Ocean Avenue, according to the city of Laguna Beach council meeting Tuesday. Start dates are dependent on proper permits from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board and some "other staging activities" from Caltrans, according to the city manager's office.

"Due to the pandemic, I think it would be worse for our economy if we waited until after Labor Day," Pietig said.

The closures at Promenade on Forest Avenue will not be changed during this project, according to the city.

The City of Laguna Beach's Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Committee Chairman, Matt Lawson, shared the roadwork's necessity, already delayed since fall.

"Either we do it when we schedule it, or we do it when the road caves in," Lawson said at the meeting. "We're going to have a major disaster on our hands. We've got the best of the bad choices."

South Coast Highway, south of the Broadway intersection, is in dire need of repair. City Manager John Pietig has expressed concern about traffic congestion and traffic control during the project. Pietig's office will work with Traffic Management Inc. to help mitigate traffic issues.

"It's going to be Carmageddon," Lawson said. Between winter rains, summer traffic, fall fire danger, there is no choice but to do it in the spring. "It will be an inconvenience for many, but it has to get done."