The effort to install irrigation and replant trees, shrubs and groundcover along 12 miles of the freeway will continue through Nov. 30, when more than 15,000 sprinklers and 2.5 million-plus plants should be in the ground.

?EUR??,,????'??What we hear over and over is, ?EUR??,,????'??We want it green.?EUR??,,????'??? And that?EUR??,,????'???s what we?EUR??,,????'???re setting out to do now,?EUR??,,????'?? said Rick Grebner, the Orange County Transportation Authority?EUR??,,????'???s project manager for the 22.

As of mid-May, motorists were greeted with asphalt, sound walls ?EUR??,,????'??? and hundreds of acres of barren dirt along the 22 and its ramps.
The new plants will include 15,000 shrubs and 1,500 trees.

A committee representing the California Department of Transportation, the OCTA and four cities began meeting in 2001 to devise a master-landscaping plan.

The committee looked for trees and shrubs that would be low-maintenance, drought resistant and aesthetically pleasing. The trees will be planted in rows reflective of the orchards that once dominated the area.

Gone are the eucalyptus trees that lined the freeway. Forty-two palm trees were saved before construction began and will be re-planted; the entire project will include 600 palms.

The bulk of the work over the next several weeks will be installing new irrigation systems. After that, crews will begin planting trees and shrubs in Orange and work west toward Westminster/Garden Grove.

?EUR??,,????'??Once we reach the point that we start planting, motorists will see all that landscaping go up very quickly,?EUR??,,????'?? said Jack Meifert, a 22 consultant.

Source: O.C. Register