BEVERLY HILLS—According to a press release from Therese Kosterman, Public Information Manager for the city of Beverly Hills, detours will go into effect for eastbound North (Big) Santa Monica Boulevard starting Tuesday, January 9. For approximately three weeks, traffic on North (Big) Santa Monica Boulevard will be limited to two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane from western city limits to Crescent Drive and only two westbound lanes between Crescent Drive and Doheny Drive. Eastbound traffic will be rerouted to South (Little) Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards starting at Century Park East.
The detour plan is similar to the one that was implemented for previous construction phases: in June for Segment 1, which stretched from Wilshire Boulevard to Rodeo Drive and in August for Segment 2, from Rodeo Drive to Alpine Drive.
The N. Santa Monica Boulevard Reconstruction project is now in its second phase of the third and final Segment between Alpine Drive and Doheny Drive. This phase of construction involves removing the roadway completely and replacing it with new subgrade and asphalt, requiring lane closures and detours.
Intersection Work: The intersection of Beverly Boulevard and N. Santa Monica Boulevard will be closed the weekend of January 20-21, restricting the north-south traffic across N. Santa Monica Boulevard from Beverly Boulevard and Palm Drive.
Raised Crosswalks: Raised crosswalks will be installed at the unsignalized intersections on the north side of N. Santa Monica Boulevard (Alpine, Foothill, Elm, Maple, Hillcrest, Arden, Alta, Sierra and Oakhurst drives). These striped, high-visibility crosswalks will connect the Beverly Gardens Park jogging/walking path where it pauses at the intersections. The crosswalks will be constructed at the same level as the curbs, allowing easy transitions for pedestrians.
Bus Stops: Buses will continue to travel westbound on N. Santa Monica Blvd with stops at Canon Drive, Camden Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. Buses travelling eastbound will stay diverted onto S. Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. Buses will stop west of Charleville Boulevard and continue on S. Santa Monica Boulevard with stops west of Camden Drive and west of Crescent Drive. The eastbound buses will return to N. Santa Monica Boulevard by way of Doheny Drive.
The work and road closures are scheduled in order to shorten the overall duration of construction and keep the project on track for completion before the summer. An extensive outreach program is underway to inform the community on the progress of the project and how to navigate streets during construction. Watch for mailers, social media messages, signage and notification of upcoming meetings.
Once completed, improvements to N. Santa Monica Boulevard will include:
-Rebuilt roadway with new asphalt surface to provide a smoother and quieter ride
-Upgraded drainage system
-New curbs and gutters
-Widening of the road on the south side between Cañon Drive and Wilshire Boulevard
-A standardized street-lighting system along the north side
-ADA compliant access upgrades
-New sidewalks
-Low impact drainage landscaping (grass swales) that comply with the urban water quality regulations
-Landscaping on the south side of the boulevard
-Bike lanes
-Raised crosswalks
The www.beverlyhills.org/smblvd website will be updated and residents and businesses can sign up to receive emailed notifications through Ask Bev, www.beverlyhills.org/AskBev, or stay in touch via www.Facebook.com/CityofBeverlyhills and www.Twitter.com/CityofBevHills. Residents can also reach the city of Beverly Hills via email smblvd@beverlyhills.org, the project helpline at (424) 339-9033 or the Public Works Customer Service line at (310) 285-2467.
