$1.8-million seawall capping contract heads to Newport council

Newport Beach is prepared to spend about $1.8 million to cap Balboa Island’s seawalls.

The City Council will vote on a contract Tuesday for Chatsworth-based Bosco Constructors to add a 9-inch concrete cap to about a mile and a half of the publicly maintained seawalls on the north, south and west sides of the main Balboa Island.

The project breaks down to $1.4 million for construction and about $350,000 for contingency, consultant services, materials and geotechnical testing and incidentals.

The cap will help protect the community from flooding during especially high tides, officials say.

Work is expected to start in November and be done by the spring, with a hiatus during the holidays and the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

The extension, which would bring the walls to 8½ to 9 feet, is a less costly stopgap measure in place of replacing the aging walls.

The walls were built between 1929 and 1939 and are considered to be in fair condition, with some superficial cracking and pitting. With continued maintenance, they should have 10 or more years left in them, according to a staff report.

The new project will make the main island’s walls about as tall as those on Little Balboa Island, which the city capped in the late 1980s.

Peninsula crosswalk study

During the study session, the council will review the results of a Balboa Peninsula crosswalk safety study. City staff, which has already shared the study at a town hall hosted by Councilwoman Diane Dixon and a meeting of the city’s Balboa Village Advisory Committee, suggest an overhaul of the tourist-heavy area’s crosswalks.

Future safety measures could include higher-contrast pavement markings, added signage, flashing beacons and curb extensions.

Drone regulations

Also during the study session, the police department will review drone regulation in other cities and seek council and resident direction on local approaches.

Tuesday’s meeting starts at 4 p.m. with the study session, followed by the regular session at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.

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