July 11, 2011
IRVINE – The first shovels went into the ground today on a $84 million project that will relieve congestion and ease a chronic traffic bottleneck along State Route 91 (SR-91), a major transportation artery connecting Orange County with the Inland Empire.
"Caltrans is proud to break ground on this important widening project. Improving mobility in this corridor will significantly ease congestion, and help boost the economy as we build our infrastructure" said Caltrans District 12 Director Cindy Quon.
The project is funded by the State Transportation Improvement Program and the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account. The contractor is Sema Construction, Inc. of Lake Forest. SR-91 is recognized in the regional and State transportation plans as a major transportation facility that serves Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles Counties, and is the lifeline for Orange and Riverside Counties as it is the only freeway corridor connecting these two counties.
"OCTA is very pleased to see this project get under way and we are looking forward to bringing much-needed traffic relief to the hundreds of thousands of residents, commuters and visitors who travel this stretch of freeway every day," said OCTA Chair Patricia Bates, also the Fifth District Supervisor.
The project will add one general-purpose lane for six miles in each direction between SR-55 and SR-241and establish full standard lane and shoulder widths across the freeway. It will widen the bridge for Imperial Highway (SR-90) and the Weir Canyon Road undercrossing in both directions. On and off ramps will be reconstructed to accommodate the mainline widening, and soundwalls will be constructed. The result is to reduce heavy peak-hour traffic congestion and delays.
The project is also consistent with the SR 91 Implementation Plan (as required by AB 1010). This section of highway is a busy commuter and goods movement corridor with an average daily traffic volume of 300,000. The project is targeted for completion in September 2012.
“Creating employment opportunities and protecting our quality of life through infrastructure projects like the O.C. Bridges Program is a critical component in rebuilding our economy,” said OCTA CEO Will Kempton.
Nearly 70 trains a day travel along the BNSF rail line through Anaheim, Fullerton and Placentia and that number is anticipated to increase more than 45 percent by 2030.
For more information, visit www.ocbridges.com.
