![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/04141354\/31oct24-lagoon-8262-987453-h9l75yq4-691038-Hv7bWthw.jpg\")
<\/a>A pipe is exposed and runs down the middle of Colorado Street toward the Colorado Lagoon as construction continues in Long Beach, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\nThe city says it has spent at least $1.5 million surveying and abating asbestos after it was discovered more than a dozen separate times.<\/p>\n
Each time, workers must go through a time-consuming cleanup procedure of testing, tagging, bagging and safely disposing of contaminated dirt or debris. It\u2019s hard to tell how many more times this will happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish we had a magic wand and a crystal ball, but unfortunately, we don\u2019t,\u201d said Long Beach Project Manager Charlene Angusco. \u201cWe are getting through the most difficult parts of construction now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the delays, officials hope they can finish the pipe system, called a sewer siphon, and finish building Eliot and Colorado streets \u2014 which intersect the lagoon \u2014 by summer\u2019s end. Crews will need 11 weeks after the system is finished before they can pave a final layer of asphalt on the two streets, officials say.<\/p>\n
In the interim, commutes for those living in East Long Beach neighborhoods detoured onto nearby Seventh Street, Anaheim Street and Bellflower Boulevard. A temporary pedestrian path is currently the only through\u2011route.<\/p>\n
But skepticism was rife among residents at the meeting, some of whom expressed disbelief that the project \u2014 already two years overdue \u2014 won\u2019t face more delays, adding the city has not been forthright about the process.<\/p>\n
This comes after investigations<\/a> by the Post in late 2024 found whistleblowing workers who allege they were ordered to bury and hide asbestos-containing materials outside the city\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n In the report, workers warned that far more asbestos remained throughout the site and would continue to be a problem throughout the project\u2019s duration.<\/p>\n Officials insist the public should stay optimistic, assuring them the project is close to completion.<\/p>\n Crews last winter finished the Colorado Street bridge deck and sidewalk, and installed Caltrans\u2019 barriers for motorcyclists. They also commenced major excavation and installed storm drain lines throughout the area. Eliot Street, meanwhile, needs only a final pavement, striping, guardrails and fencing.<\/p>\n Once the sewer system is finished, crews can decommission the lagoon\u2019s small culvert, which currently connects it to the ocean, replacing it with a tidal flow connection. The open channel must also be excavated all the way to the Colorado Street Bridge.<\/p>\n