Major utility relocation nears completion, work shifts off Fourth Street for a holiday construction recess; updated project info available via new app
ORANGE – Construction on Orange County’s first modern electric streetcar is well underway one year after the signing of a full-funding grant agreement and groundbreaking on the project, and a new mobile app makes it simple to get updated project information. With the arrival of the holiday season, a construction recess on Fourth Street is in place now through the start of 2020, allowing optimum access to businesses in the area for holiday shopping, dining and entertainment.
Construction activities continue elsewhere on the 4.1-mile streetcar route between the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center and a new transit stop at Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. Those activities include:
- Crews are busy relocating utilities in the area, including sewer and water lines and storm drains, and dry utilities such as electricity and gas lines. Work on relocating utilities is scheduled to be complete in early 2020.
- Foundations are being poured for the Maintenance and Storage Facility along the former Pacific Electric right of way in Santa Ana, with that building expected to begin taking shape throughout the coming year.
- The foundation and pier walls for a new 350-foot-long bridge across the Santa Ana River are complete, and other work on that bridge is scheduled to resume after the rainy season.
The Orange County Transportation Authority, which is leading construction of the project, continues to work closely with officials from the Federal Transit Administration, which awarded a $149 million federal funding grant to the project one year ago, allowing construction to begin.
Along with other federal money, that funding is expected to pay for more than half of the $408 million project. Other funds come from Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, also known as OC Go.
The OC Streetcar route will serve Santa Ana’s thriving downtown and dense employment areas that include county and local government offices and courthouses in the Civic Center. The streetcar will carry passengers between the busy Santa Ana transit center and a transit stop at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove, running along Santa Ana Boulevard, Fourth Street and the Pacific Electric right-of-way and connecting with OCTA’s busiest bus routes.
Six vehicles – with two spares – will operate daily, making stops at 10 locations in each direction every 10 to 15 minutes. Construction on the Siemens S70 streetcar vehicles began in September.
The project is on track to begin testing and operations in early 2022.
OCTA has created a new mobile app making it easier to get all the project information in a few swipes, including work locations, a business resource guide and project photos. The free OC Streetcar app can be downloaded via the Apple Store and for Android devices at Google Play.
For more information on the project, visit www.ocstreetcar.com.
