Latest 405 widening plan would spare Fairview bridge in O.C.

An alternative plan for the 405 Freeway improvement project that would keep an overpass from being torn down is gaining traction among select Orange County cities.

The option would have two toll lanes that would start north of Fairview Avenue and south of Harbor Boulevard, eliminating the need to tear down the Fairview bridge that Costa Mesa widened several years ago.

The option also would create a new lane from the 73 Freeway to the 405.

The latest alternative is in response to another proposal that would add one general-purpose lane and convert the existing carpool lane into a toll road. A second toll lane would be built under that alternative.

Six Orange County cities -- Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley  -- have registered their opposition to that alternative, which has a $1.7-billion price tag.

If the Orange County Transportation Authority recommends the newest alternative to the California Department of Transportation, the project would cost less money, but might require more environmental review, said OCTA Chief Executive Will Kempton.

"If we can make this facility have less community impacts, it'll be a better facility," Kempton said.

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-- Joseph Serna, Times Community News

Photo: 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa at rush hour. Credit: Christine Cotter/Los Angeles Times.