Section of Cherry Avenue in Signal Hill to Be Closed for Widening to 4 Lanes

SIGNAL HILL — An overburdened Cherry Avenue, this city’s main north-south thoroughfare, will be closed between 21st and Willow streets for one year beginning this week.

Workers will turn the two-lane street into four lanes in what city officials say is one of Signal Hill’s largest street projects ever.

Designed for 10,000 cars a day, Cherry Avenue now carries about 20,000 a day. Once the $5-million project is completed, the street will be able to handle 30,000 a day, city officials say.

Officials are encouraging drivers to use three alternate routes between Pacific Coast Highway and Willow Street: Orange Avenue; Obispo Avenue to Hathaway Avenue to Temple Avenue, and Redondo Avenue.

While closed to through traffic, Cherry will have local access at three points: the driveway of Town Center West from Willow Street, Hill Street where it crosses Cherry, and the garage entrance off Cherry that services the Hill condominiums, which will be open from 21st Street.