Santa Ana officials approved a deal Tuesday that will reimburse the city hundreds of thousands of dollars to perform maintenance services, including encampment, graffiti and trash removal along its major freeway ramps and underpasses.
The Encampment Delegated Maintenance Agreement allows the city to perform the routine maintenance services over the next two years, while being reimbursed up to $400,000 by Caltrans, according to a news release.
The EDMA deal authorizes ongoing maintenance on the following high-priority locations along the I-5 and SR-55 freeway corridors:
- 17th Street and Penn Way – on/off-ramps
- Buffalo Avenue and Main Street – southbound off-ramp
- Santiago Creek Underpass at Broadway
- Grand Avenue – on/off-Ramps and underpass
- East side of I-5 freeway – Between Stafford and Mabury streets
- South side of I-5 freeway – Between Logan Street and Lincoln Avenue
- Fourth Street – northbound off-ramp
- Fourth Street – southbound on/off-ramps
- Hesperian Street and Bristol Street – on/off ramps and underpass
- Dyer Road – on/off ramps and underpass
- MacArthur Boulevard – southbound on-ramp
“The City of Santa Ana is committed to keeping our community safe, clean and welcoming for everyone,” Mayor Valerie Amezcua said. “Through this partnership with Caltrans, we can make sure our freeways and underpasses reflect the pride we have in our city while protecting public health and safety for residents, businesses and visitors alike.”
The estimated annual cost of the maintenance is $150,000, with the remaining balance available for the encampment removals or any additional cleanup efforts. “Work will begin as soon as the agreement takes effect,” the release stated.
Residents and visitors were encouraged to use the mySantaAna app to report graffiti, debris and other issues near freeways or elsewhere in the city.