The OC Transportation Authority and Caltrans held a public open house concerning a project to renovate the I-605/Katella interchange on Thursday, June 29.
The event was held at the Los Alamitos Community Center with about 50-60 people in attendance.
The project was initiated by OCTA in 2005/06 as one of the many transportation projects funded by County sales tax Measure M-2. The project’s purpose is to enhance safety and traffic flow in the interchange.
The OC Transportation Authority and Caltrans held a public open house concerning a project to renovate the I-605/Katella interchange on Thursday, June 29.
The event was held at the Los Alamitos Community Center with about 50-60 people in attendance.
The project was initiated by OCTA in 2005/06 as one of the many transportation projects funded by County sales tax Measure M-2. The project’s purpose is to enhance safety and traffic flow in the interchange.
The project does not specifically deal with changes to the area caused by the development of the Village 605 shopping center. Residents discovered that the busy Katella pedestrian crossing at Walnut is outside the project area, and is not scheduled to be improved as part of the project.
Spokespersons for OCTA and Caltrans indicated a pedestrian bridge or other improvements for crossing Katella are the responsibility of the City of Los Alamitos.
The project is in its initial stages, with no specific design plans. The project intends to modify the north and southbound 605 ramps, widen Katella Avenue, and improve bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
As highway improvement projects go, it is a relatively low budget one. However, the amounts listed by OCTA and Caltrans vary widely. An OCTA/Caltrans hand-out given to the public at the event stated the total estimated cost as “$10 million to $25 million.” However, the OCTA website lists the total estimated cost as “$7 million to $10 million.”
As a comparison, the West County Connectors project, which connected the 405, 605 and 22 carpool lanes, cost $300 million per the OCTA and Caltrans.
The first stage of the project, which is currently ongoing, is the study of potential environmental impacts of improvements of the interchange
This process will take a year to complete, after which a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be subject to public scrutiny and comment.
After the public provides its feedback on the environmental impact of the project, a final EIR will be prepared. After, the design phase of the project will be subject to bidding.
This article appeared in the July 5, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.
