Traffic Alert: Dover Drive Closing Wednesday

A section of Dover Drive will be closed to traffic beginning Wednesday as Orange County Sanitation District crews install a new sewer pipeline, the city of Newport Beach reported.

The project will be done in two phases, with the first beginning Wednesday with the southbound Dover Drive closure, between Westcliff Drive and Cliff Drive. Road closures will be in effect between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The first project phase is expected to be completed by February 2014.

During the holidays, there will be no traffic impacts due to the work on Thanksgiving Day, the following day Nov. 29, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as no work is scheduled to be done on those days. The project will also come to a halt from Dec. 18 - 20 and Dover Drive will be reopened to help accommodate traffic during the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

Once the first phase is completed, crews will move on to close all southbound lanes on Dover Drive, between 16th Street and Westcliff Drive, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This second phase is expected to be completed in April 2014.

Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes including Newport Boulevard and Jamboree Road, as the southbound Dover Drive closures are expected to cause delays along Irvine and Riverside avenues.

Residents who are interested in learning more about the Dover Drive and four other sewer pipeline projects are invited to attend a community meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Mariners Library, located at 1300 Irvine Ave. in Newport Beach.

The Dover Drive project includes the installation of 7,200 feet of 24-inch diameter sewer pipeline from Irvine Avenue to Coast Highway, according to city officials.

For more information on the project, visit ocsewers.com/NBProgram.

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