Placentia Avenue Median Installation & Landscaping Project

OE provided design engineering services to the City of Costa Mesa on the Placentia Avenue Median Installation & Landscaping Project. The City obtained federal funding to provide pedestrian and traffic safety improvements on Placentia Avenue from Wilson Street to Adams Avenue through a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Grant. This very busy corridor moves pedestrian, bicycle, commuter and emergency services traffic past Estancia High School, the City of Public Works Yard, adjacent fire station, residential streets and the 208 acre Fairview Park open space. OE was responsible for preparing the construction documents including landscaping and irrigation plans. The project provided a landscaped median island through the residential segment south of Adams Avenue, through Fairview Park and by Estancia High School. The raised median layout incorporated enhanced turn pockets to handle increased queue volumes along with a special drainage system in the super elevated area to capture rain run-off and then move it underground within the median to be controlled and utilized as supplemental irrigation. A subterranean irrigation system will also eliminate overspray and wet pavement along this curving, hilly roadway. Two distinct landscape palettes (Native and Mediterranean) were chosen to compliment the surrounding area by providing a colorful aspect to the residential and high school segments with a corresponding natural aspect to stay with the theme of the park segment. To facilitate the county maintenance vehicles, who traverse the roadway to access the flood control channel ramps, the design provides a mountable center median section. To illustrate both the new raised median layout and the landscape palettes, OE prepared color photo renderings which were used at community outreach meetings. The scope of work also included conducting community outreach meetings, coordinating with Orange County Flood Control District, Mesa Water District and Caltrans. OE prepared the Caltrans documents; Preliminary Environmental Statement (PES), ROW Certification and Request for Authorization to initiate construction and provide project funding.