KATELLA AVENUE IS GOING UPTOWN

Medians are now lined with palm trees with wider lanes stretching farther east on one of Anaheim s major thoroughfares. Work crews are touching up landscaping and concrete work through the middle of January on a $6.9 million project to improve traffic How along Katella Avenue, from Lewis Street to State College Boulevard. Major construction wrapped up on New Year s Eve, but recent rainstorms had delayed portions of the project. Crews from CMC Engineering, which started work in February, added a westbound lane along this half-mile stretch of Katella, repaved the roadway, widened traffic lanes and landscaped the median with towering palm trees that will be lighted at night. The improvements mirror Katella s streetscape abutting the south end of Disneyland, providing continuity from Anaheim s resort area. The traffic changes are meant to reduce congestion caused by vehicles traveling to and from Angel Stadium, the Honda Center, the City National Grove of Anaheim and the new Anahein Intermodal Center via 1-5 and the 57 freeway. Construction has started again on hundreds of new apartments within an area known as the Platinum Triangle, potentially bringing even more motorists to Katella. A streetcar could someday trundle along Katella, but the tracks would run curbside, so the new median would not be affected. A report is due this year outlining the impacts of the proposed 3-mile route.