A smoother ride is coming to Orange County's 405
Qsouthbound
I travel the
405 Freeway from Long Beach to Laguna Beach twice a week. They spent all this time and money and although most of it is quite nice, from Beach Boulevard to a bit past Warner Avenue the road is in horrible shape — ruts and just bad paving in general. I can't believe they haven't gone over it to make any further repairs. Now when I'm approaching Beach, I move to the right a couple of lanes to avoid that terrible section of road! Are there plans to fix it? Or are they happy with the results? I, and I'm sure a lot of other drivers, are not!
— Fermin Guerrero, Long Beach
AYou are correct, sir! Honk received a half-dozen emails complaining about the surface.
As you know, Fermin, the 405 was widened between the 605 and the 73. The extra lanes, pretty new bridges and other stuff cost $2.16 billion.
The Orange County Transportation Authority oversaw that.
“It is important to note that the focus of the project was to improve the highway to meet current and future traffic demands, rather than rehabilitating the existing Caltrans pavement, while minimizing impacts to drivers,” said Megan Abba, an OCTA spokeswoman in an email.
It's Caltrans' turn to take the baton.
For much of the prior project's stretch, Caltrans will work on the lanes' surface, to “improve the overall driving experience for commuters and travelers along this route,” said a Caltrans official through Sheilah Fortenberry, a Caltrans spokeswoman.
But upset motorists will need to wait a bit.
Construction is to begin in February 2025 and end in March 2027.
QThe huge American flag at the 91 Freeway/241
Toll Road interchange, it's always nice to see. It is taken down on windy days, which is a good thing so the flag will not get torn or shredded. Who takes care of that — puts it up and takes it down?
— Pete Schutte, Irvine
AAs you may recall, Pete, from reading Honk or The Orange County Register, a 30-by60-foot flag rose up a 100-foot-tall pole in late 2022, from the grounds of what is called Gypsum Canyon Memorial Park, which is in Anaheim. A public cemetery and one for veterans are planned for the spot, tentatively to be developed in 2026-27.
The Orange County
Cemetery District takes care of the flag, said Natalie Aguirre, a city of Anaheim spokeswoman.
“It's a monumental flag,” she said. “It's hard to miss. When it's not there, I'm sure people wonder about it. … We want to protect the flag and ensure it has a long life.”
Weather can prompt it being pulled down, along with maintenance, Aguirre said.
Otherwise, the flag is on duty — lit up at night per tradition for American flags.
HONKIN' FACT: The original BART cars in the San Francisco Bay Area are decommissioned and some are being offered to those with ideas the agency likes. One will become a bike shop, another an entertainment venue and a third a vacation spot. The Hayward Fire Department is using one of the train coaches for training. BART opened on Sept. 11, 1972. Said one of eight winners, Michael Lin: “It's always been a dream of mine to build something fun for my family, and for this BART train we're going for a cozy, woodsy cabin crossed with a space-age modern aesthetic.” (Source: The Mercury News)
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/ tag/honk. Twitter: @ OCRegisterHonk .