The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and CalTrans will plan to close, refurbish and replace several connecting areas of the 22, 405 and 605 freeways in an effort called the West County Connectors Project. Among the roads that will be closed are the 7th Street Bridge (for 12 months), the E-22 and N-405 connector (10 months), the S-605 and S-405 connector (two weeks) and E-22 and S-405 connector (two weeks).
The project sure to affect Long Beach residents most will be the 7th Street Bridge project, which serves drivers traveling Nourthbound on the 405 and entering the W-22. That area is projected to close during the summer of 2010 and reopen one year later.
Suggested detour routes are the Seal Beach Boulevard exit previous to the 22 West, and the Palo Verde Avenue after passing the 22 West.
CalTrans and the OCTA will hold a series of community meetings and forums to present the project to the public, the first of which occurs this Thursday, March 12, at Kettering Elementary School in Long Beach. Construction schedules, detour plans and more will be covered in the 6:30pm meeting.
The other project that figures to heavily affect Long Beach traffic is the reconstruction of the 405/605 connector.
The project is in the final stages of design and construction is scheduled to begin early next year. We will have images and diagrams available shortly.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor