IRVINE : Cost Could Delay Underpass Project

The city will move ahead with plans to build an underpass at the railroad tracks on Culver Drive, but City Council members said Tuesday that cost could delay the project.

The council approved asking contractors to submit cost estimates for the project in order to find out whether the city can afford it now. City traffic engineers estimate that the underpass would cost about $20 million.

Last year the council approved underpasses at the railroad tracks on Culver and Jeffrey Road to make the crossings safer and improve traffic flow. Transportation officials estimate that the number of commuter trains stopping traffic in Irvine will double to about 40 by 1995 and perhaps triple in later years.

In 1989, a 47-year-old woman was killed at the Culver Drive crossing when a train hit her car. The woman stopped on the tracks during rush hour and was boxed in by bumper-to-bumper traffic when the train approached.

The city has $5 million in grant funds set aside to build the two underpasses but would have to borrow money to finance much of the remaining cost.