Motorists can expect closures on westbound Burton Way through the end of September. (photo by Rance Collins)

The Burton Way Median Project in Beverly Hills is well underway, and residents can expect closures on westbound traffic to last through late September as a result of the construction.

Westbound lanes will be closed between Oakhurst and Palm drives, and traffic will be re-routed to Doheny Drive. However, the city will allow local access to residents near the closure.

“We’re taking one of the stormwater channels and directing it into the median – into a tank which will then irrigate the three medians [on] Burton Way that are in the city of Beverly Hills,” public works director Shana Epstein said.

She said the contractor, L.A. Engineering, will also create “bioswales,” a stormwater system that is an alternative to storm sewers.

“When there is storm water, the water will run through those bioswales also into the tank – about a 1-million gallon tank that we’re putting in at the last, or most eastern, block of the median,” Epstein added.

In addition, the contractor will install a “much more California-friendly landscape,” she said.

“It’s very exciting,” Epstein said. “Hopefully, this will be a jewel in our crown as we move forward with water efficiency and using all water resources to the best of our ability.”

She said L.A. Engineering brought a crane into the area on Aug. 10 that will impact traffic, and the city has reached out to area residents about the project.

“We know it’s an inconvenience, but we hope that we’ve made some viable detours to help people through it,” Epstein said.

She added that the project is an example of how the city can be “water wise” moving forward.

“All water is one water, so we need to really utilize it to the best of our ability,” Epstein said.

The city of Beverly Hills is paying for half of the project’s $12 million cost, which includes the design. Epstein said the remaining balance was funded through grants.

“Originally, we were going to have to build it in phases, but now we can build the whole project because we were able to get grant funding,” she said.

Four sculptures on the median, and another at a mini-park on Rexford Drive, will be protected as construction ensues. They are “Folded Square-Alphabet G” by Fletcher Benton, “World on Its Hind Legs” by William Kentridge, “Sisyphus” by Alexander Liberman, “Love Anatomy” by Alexandra Nechita and “Spiral of Life” by Baile Oakes.

“When [residents] see it all finished, they won’t even know that we have a 1-million gallon tank underneath the median,” Epstein said. “They’ll just see new, beautiful, California-friendly vegetation around beautiful pieces of art.”

The project is expected to be completed in February.