Plan to widen CA-91 - L.A. Times Reprint
larry_scholnick
widening
November 2, 2009 | 5:25 pm
One of Southern California’s toughest commutes is about to get
somewhat easier.
Officials Tuesday will break ground on a $59.5-million project to
widen the eastbound 91 Freeway with the hopes of easing congestion for
commuters along the heavily traveled stretch between Orange and
Riverside counties.
The section through the Santa Ana Canyon has long been considered one
of the worst freeway bottlenecks in the nation, connecting bedroom
communities in the Inland Empire to job centers in Orange and Los
Angeles counties.
The roughly 6-mile-long project will run from the 241 Freeway, a toll
road, to the 71 Freeway and will add one lane to the four existing
eastbound lanes, excluding two express lanes.
“The 91 corridor, that’s been one of the toughest puzzles to solve,”
said Peter Buffa, chairman of the Orange County Transportation
Authority. “There’s 300,000 cars traveling that route each day.”
He said the agency also hopes to eventually widen the freeway in both
directions from the 55 Freeway to the 241 toll road. Commuters in that
area got another boost this week with today's grand opening of new
lanes on the 241 toll road, another route channeling Inland Empire
commuters into Orange County.
The “Fast Trak” toll lanes run through the Windy Ridge toll plaza.
Some 50,000 commuters pass through that plaza each weekday and the new
lanes on the 241 Freeway are supposed to ease traffic flow to and from
the 91 Freeway, said Jennifer Seaton of the Transportation Corridor
Agencies. Seaton said that stretch of the 91 Freeway east of the 241
Freeway can be “very, very congested” and that the backup affects
commuters using the toll road.
Transportation officials have been talking for decades about how to
ease the commute between the Inland Empire and Orange County.
More than a decade ago, officials opened toll lanes along a portion of
the 91 Freeway, offering less congestion for commuters willing to pay
the price. The 241 toll road, which runs from the 91 into South Orange
County, was also designed to improve the commute.
The 91 runs through a narrow canyon amid several mountain ranges,
making it hard to build additional freeways between the Inland Empire
and Orange County. In recent years, planners have talked about
tunneling 11.5 miles through the Cleveland National Forest to build a
new route, but those plans are still very much in the conceptual
stages.
Orange County transportation officials said the bulk of the 91
widening project, $47.9 million, is being funded with federal stimulus
dollars and local agencies.
-- Ari B. Bloomekatz
Brent Jonas
> Last time on ca.driving, larry_scholnick <larry_scholn...@yahoo.com>
> said:
>
> >One of California's toughest commutes getting relief with 91 Freeway
> >widening
> >November 2, 2009 | 5:25 pm
>
> >One of Southern California’s toughest commutes is about to get
> >somewhat easier.
>
> >Officials Tuesday will break ground on a $59.5-million project to
> >widen the eastbound 91 Freeway with the hopes of easing congestion for
> >commuters along the heavily traveled stretch between Orange and
> >Riverside counties.
>
> lived here (1995) but the traffic just gets worse and worse.
>
> It's gotten so bad that traffic on the 241 toll road that feeds the 91
> also backs up for several miles during the afternoon rush.
>
> I tell ya, I'd rather live in a carboard box in Orange County than
> have to drive on the 91.
>
> I do confess, however, that I wouldn't mind if they built some direct
> connector ramps betweenthe 241 and the 91 Express Lanes. Those would
> be especially nice when taking an out-of-town trip. :)
Actually, the 91 commute has gotten *A LOT* better in recent months,
I've noticed. More often than not, once you get outside of Corona,
it's generally free-flow in the mornings going westbound, until the
last mile approaching the 55. Blame the housing market crash and
rising unemployment for the improvement. The afternoons are a bit
more unpredictable, but there are now days where it only takes 30
minutes during peak hours to drive from the 55 to I-15. Friday's can
still be tough, but I'll take a 1 hour drive over 2+ hours, compared
to this time, last year.
Another positive; northbound CA 241 just received a 4th northbound
lane from the toll plaza, up to CA 91. Yay. :-)
-Brent
Cameron Kaiser
>I do confess, however, that I wouldn't mind if they built some direct
>connector ramps betweenthe 241 and the 91 Express Lanes. Those would
>be especially nice when taking an out-of-town trip. :)
Never figured out why they haven't done this yet (it wouldn't be cheap
because of the height of the flyovers, but none of the options they have
in front of them are particularly inexpensive, and at least this builds
within existing ROW).
--
Cameron Kaiser * cka...@floodgap.com * posting with a Commodore 128
Computer Workshops: http://www.armory.com/%7Espectre/cwi/
Floodgap Systems: http://www.floodgap.com/
personal page: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/
Brent Jonas
> Scott in SoCal <scottenazt...@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> >I do confess, however, that I wouldn't mind if they built some direct
> >connector ramps betweenthe 241 and the 91 Express Lanes. Those would
> >be especially nice when taking an out-of-town trip. :)
>
> Never figured out why they haven't done this yet (it wouldn't be cheap
> because of the height of the flyovers, but none of the options they have
> in front of them are particularly inexpensive, and at least this builds
> within existing ROW).
>
> --
> Computer Workshops:http://www.armory.com/%7Espectre/cwi/
> Floodgap Systems:http://www.floodgap.com/
> personal page:http://www.cameronkaiser.com/
This has been studied, and I believe it's one of the long-term goals
to build these ramps. It could be years and years before it finally
happens, though.
Steve Sobol
scotte...@yahoo.com says...
> I tell ya, I'd rather live in a carboard box in Orange County than
> have to drive on the 91.
My wife grew up in Apple Valley, but I've only lived here since 2003.
When I agreed to come out here, all I could think is "OMG, I'm going to
get stuck in traffic at all hours of the day."
The 91 and the 405 are the only freeways where this is actually true. :)
--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
sjs...@JustThe.net
Brent Jonas
> In article <1b67f5le6c3a5k4n28nv5gbppota6ij...@4ax.com>,
> scottenazt...@yahoo.com says...
>
> > I tell ya, I'd rather live in a carboard box in Orange County than
> > have to drive on the 91.
>
> My wife grew up in Apple Valley, but I've only lived here since 2003.
>
> When I agreed to come out here, all I could think is "OMG, I'm going to
> get stuck in traffic at all hours of the day."
>
> The 91 and the 405 are the only freeways where this is actually true. :)
>
> --
> Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
Or the 101 thru Hollywood. Actually, I-110 eastbound is becoming a
never-ending, stop-and-go mess, starting as early as 1 p.m. It was
never like that in the past, but this trend has been continuing for
about the past couple of years now.
Steve Sobol
15389d...@k17g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, brent...@aol.com says...
> Or the 101 thru Hollywood.
I've driven the 101 through Hollywood, mid-morning, and it hasn't been
too bad, but the last time I drove that freeway was months and months
ago.
Actually, I-110 eastbound is becoming a
> never-ending, stop-and-go mess, starting as early as 1 p.m. It was
> never like that in the past, but this trend has been continuing for
> about the past couple of years now.
110 eastbound?
--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
sjs...@JustThe.net
jgar the jorrible
When I used to commute from Vista to Burbank (15 years ago), I'd find
the 5 NB in OC jammed at 2:00AM sometimes. Silly me, thinking there'd
be no traffic then. Drunks and construction are a bad mix.
jg
--
@home.com is bogus.
Who could it be? http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/06/identity-driver-lakeside-fatal-still-unknown/
Brent Jonas
> In article <40e679c1-353c-400c-9232-
> 15389d4dd...@k17g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, brentrjo...@aol.com says...
>
> > Or the 101 thru Hollywood.
>
> I've driven the 101 through Hollywood, mid-morning, and it hasn't been
> too bad, but the last time I drove that freeway was months and months
> ago.
>
> Actually, I-110 eastbound is becoming a
>
> > never-ending, stop-and-go mess, starting as early as 1 p.m. It was
> > never like that in the past, but this trend has been continuing for
> > about the past couple of years now.
>
> 110 eastbound?
>
> --
> Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
105 eastbound. :-)
Jonathan L
After driving the 5 between the 91 and the 605 one fine sunny
afternoon, I decided I was never, ever putting a car on that stretch
of road until the 10-laning is complete.
-Jonathan
JG
> Last time on ca.driving, Jonathan L <jlipp...@gmail.com> said:
>
> >After driving the 5 between the 91 and the 605 one fine sunny
> >afternoon, I decided I was never, ever putting a car on that stretch
> >of road until the 10-laning is complete.
>
> it weren't such a pain to drive it would almost be nostalgic. :)
> Notice how the narrow 6-lane section begins at the LA county line?
> It's a dramatic illustration of just how important other sources of
> funding besides the fuel tax have become.
>
> However, even after they finish expanding it it will still be a
> gridlocked nightmare. The NB 5 leading into the Orange Crush is a
> parking lot every morning nowadays, with the backup stretching back to
> around Jeffrey Road. The amazing thing is, that same stretch of road
> is also a parking lot in the evenings. If everybody is going north in
> the morning, you'd think the southbound side would be the side backing
> up, but it's that damned Orange Crush (which they just finished
> revamping, BTW) that's the real problem. The same problem exists with
> the section north of the LA County line: it's called the East LA
> Interchange. :)
Looking at the map it appears that the Channel Islands and Catalina
were once part of the Mainland US eons, ago. So I-5 won't exist in
100,000 years.
Jonathan L
> Last time on ca.driving, Jonathan L <jlipp...@gmail.com> said:
>
> >afternoon, I decided I was never, ever putting a car on that stretch
> >of road until the 10-laning is complete.
>
> it weren't such a pain to drive it would almost be nostalgic. :)
The first time I drove it I was heading south at about 1:30AM. No
problems then, but I was surprised it was only 6 lanes. It would be
an interesting look at history in the day, since it's basically the
original construction, except where they converted the shoulder for an
auxiliary lane.
> Notice how the narrow 6-lane section begins at the LA county line?
> It's a dramatic illustration of just how important other sources of
> funding besides the fuel tax have become.
Tthe first time I drove it during the daytime (heading north), I
described it afterwards as "once you get north of the 91, the 5 starts
losing lanes faster than Phil Collins lost his hair." I got some
chuckles from that.
> However, even after they finish expanding it it will still be a
> gridlocked nightmare. The NB 5 leading into the Orange Crush is a
> parking lot every morning nowadays, with the backup stretching back to
> around Jeffrey Road. The amazing thing is, that same stretch of road
> is also a parking lot in the evenings. If everybody is going north in
> the morning, you'd think the southbound side would be the side backing
> up, but it's that damned Orange Crush (which they just finished
> revamping, BTW) that's the real problem. The same problem exists with
> the section north of the LA County line: it's called the East LA
> Interchange. :)
I recall driving through the Orange Crush several times while it was
under construction, and even though this was before I knew too much
about LA freeways I was wondering if it'd really make a substantial
difference. My only thought when in and around the East LA
interchange is what the heck they're going to do when the whole thing
starts hitting end-of-life.
As for the evening jams on NB 5, I've noticed a similar phenomenon in
Denver along the T-REX segment of 25: heading north in the afternoon
is usually worse than heading south, even though downtown still has
more jobs than the Denver Tech Center. I suspect many people working
in DTC are commuting from the north suburbs or Denver proper, and I
wouldn't be surprised if a good number of people commute south into
Orange County each day for work and then go back.
The irony for me is that after being on the 710 only a few times, and
as a passenger to boot, I swore I'd never ever be on that freeway
again, period--but the next time I had to drive from OC to points
north, I was perfectly willing to engage in the truck roller derby on
Mad Max-style pavement.
-Jonathan
Cameron Kaiser
>The irony for me is that after being on the 710 only a few times, and
>as a passenger to boot, I swore I'd never ever be on that freeway
>again, period--but the next time I had to drive from OC to points
>north, I was perfectly willing to engage in the truck roller derby on
>Mad Max-style pavement.
The 710 is a disaster w/r/t surfacing. You'd think they could come up
with some ARRA funds for that, but no, they're doing CA 62 east of US 95.
--
Cameron Kaiser * cka...@floodgap.com * posting with a Commodore 128
Brent Jonas
The pavement along I-710 has been substantially improved along many
stretches, as a part of a 5-year plan by CalTrans to make this one of
the smoothest freeways in L.A. along its entire length. The
rubberized asphalt sections are great.
Steve Sobol
says...
> >The irony for me is that after being on the 710 only a few times, and
> >as a passenger to boot, I swore I'd never ever be on that freeway
> >again, period--but the next time I had to drive from OC to points
> >north, I was perfectly willing to engage in the truck roller derby on
> >Mad Max-style pavement.
>
> The 710 is a disaster w/r/t surfacing. You'd think they could come up
> with some ARRA funds for that, but no, they're doing CA 62 east of US 95.
Ah. Good thing tey're using ARRA funds for a road that will actually get
some traffic.
Wow, all of the tumbleweeds rolling across that part of CA 62 must have
a horrible negative impact on the road surface...
--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
sjs...@JustThe.net
Ralph Herman
(in article
<12ffb1c6-f861-45b9...@w37g2000prg.googlegroups.com>):
> On Nov 14, 6:28ï¿œam, Jonathan L <jlipp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Nov 7, 7:00ï¿œam, Scott in SoCal <scottenazt...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Last time on ca.driving, Jonathan L <jlipp...@gmail.com> said:
>>
>>>> After driving the 5 between the 91 and the 605 one fine sunny
>>>> afternoon, I decided I was never, ever putting a car on that stretch
>>>> of road until the 10-laning is complete.
>>
>>> Ah, yes - the last stretch of 6-lane freeway in Urban California. If
>>> it weren't such a pain to drive it would almost be nostalgic. :)
>>
>> The first time I drove it I was heading south at about 1:30AM. ï¿œNo
>> problems then, but I was surprised it was only 6 lanes. ï¿œIt would be
>> an interesting look at history in the day, since it's basically the
>> original construction, except where they converted the shoulder for an
>> auxiliary lane.
>>
>>> Notice how the narrow 6-lane section begins at the LA county line?
>>> It's a dramatic illustration of just how important other sources of
>>> funding besides the fuel tax have become.
>>
>> Tthe first time I drove it during the daytime (heading north), I
>> described it afterwards as "once you get north of the 91, the 5 starts
>> losing lanes faster than Phil Collins lost his hair." ï¿œI got some
>> chuckles from that.
>>
>>> However, even after they finish expanding it it will still be a
>>> gridlocked nightmare. The NB 5 leading into the Orange Crush is a
>>> parking lot every morning nowadays, with the backup stretching back to
>>> around Jeffrey Road. The amazing thing is, that same stretch of road
>>> is also a parking lot in the evenings. If everybody is going north in
>>> the morning, you'd think the southbound side would be the side backing
>>> up, but it's that damned Orange Crush (which they just finished
>>> revamping, BTW) that's the real problem. The same problem exists with
>>> the section north of the LA County line: it's called the East LA
>>> Interchange. :)
>>
>> I recall driving through the Orange Crush several times while it was
>> under construction, and even though this was before I knew too much
>> about LA freeways I was wondering if it'd really make a substantial
>> difference. ï¿œMy only thought when in and around the East LA
>> interchange is what the heck they're going to do when the whole thing
>> starts hitting end-of-life.
>>
>> As for the evening jams on NB 5, I've noticed a similar phenomenon in
>> Denver along the T-REX segment of 25: ï¿œheading north in the afternoon
>> is usually worse than heading south, even though downtown still has
>> more jobs than the Denver Tech Center. ï¿œI suspect many people working
>> in DTC are commuting from the north suburbs or Denver proper, and I
>> wouldn't be surprised if a good number of people commute south into
>> Orange County each day for work and then go back.
>>
>> The irony for me is that after being on the 710 only a few times, and
>> as a passenger to boot, I swore I'd never ever be on that freeway
>> again, period--but the next time I had to drive from OC to points
>> north, I was perfectly willing to engage in the truck roller derby on
>> Mad Max-style pavement.
>>
>> -Jonathan
>
> The pavement along I-710 has been substantially improved along many
> stretches, as a part of a 5-year plan by CalTrans to make this one of
> the smoothest freeways in L.A. along its entire length. The
> rubberized asphalt sections are great.
Yes, it is very, very smooth, I just wish Caltrans would clean up the
graffiti on the structures and replace the signage to current standards.
It will be interesting to see how long the pavement remains smooth. I would
suspect it will suffer the same fate as many asphalt coated freeways in
urban areas with very heavy truck traffic.... it will get rutted and it will
need to be resurfaced.
NYers who know the Cross Bronx Expy will know what I mean.....
Ralph
jgar the jorrible
> Jonathan L <jlipp...@gmail.com> writes:
> >The irony for me is that after being on the 710 only a few times, and
> >as a passenger to boot, I swore I'd never ever be on that freeway
> >again, period--but the next time I had to drive from OC to points
> >north, I was perfectly willing to engage in the truck roller derby on
> >Mad Max-style pavement.
>
> The 710 is a disaster w/r/t surfacing. You'd think they could come up
> with some ARRA funds for that, but no, they're doing CA 62 east of US 95.
>
Man, in 1980 I remember riding a small moto with knobby tires up the
110 (I think before it was called that), scary all over the place with
the newly grooved surfacing.
It was either that or frickin' Vermont, Sepulveda to 6th...
jg
--
@home.com is bogus.