It will be a busy 2019 for major freeways in Orange County.
The 405 Freeway will continue to undergo a $1.9 billion expansion between State Route 73 and the 605 Freeway – adding regular and carpool lanes and widening or reconstructing more than 18 bridges. Work will continue all year, with completion expected in 2023.
“It has been decades since there has been an expansion like this,” Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman Joel Zlotnik said. “This is the largest (project) that OCTA has undertaken.” Nearly $600 million will be spent on two major projects that will start on the 5 Freeway in 2019: Adding a carpool lane between State Route 55 and State Route 57, and adding a regular traffic lane between Avery Parkway and Alicia Parkway.
That’s in addition to the $1.8 billion widening project from the Los Angeles County border to the 605 Freeway that will continue throughout 2019. That project is expected to finish in 2021.
Zlotnik said the transportation authority has been working with the cities to limit construction impacts on drivers, businesses and residents along the 16 miles of the 405 under construction.
There will be no daytime lane closures and there is a plan for staging bridge closures, he said. “There will be multiple bridges reconstructed at the same time, but there won’t be consecutive bridges.”
“It’s not an easy process,” Zlotnik said. “Construction is tough, but the alternative is that we’ll be stuck in gridlock.”
Some of the other projects underway in the county include converting Oso Parkway ito a bridge over Los Patrones Parkway in south county, improvements along Santiago Canyon Road and other roads in the canyon communities and a $107.4 million improvement to State Route 57’s Lambert Road interchange in Brea. Construction also starts in earnest in 2019 on Orange County’s first modern streetcar.
Transportation work in 2019
Here are some of the major projects that will be under construction in the next 12 months.
Location: 405 Freeway from State Route 73 to the 605 Freeway
Description: A regular traffic lane in each direction will be added between Euclid Street and the 605 Freeway. A carpool lane in each direction will be added between the 73 and the 605. Those carpool lanes will combine with the existing carpool lanes to form the tolled 405 Express Lanes. Along with the added lanes, more than 18 bridges will be built, widened or replaced as part of the project.
Updated closure and construction information is available at octa.net/405map.
Period: To be completed in 2023.
Cost: $1.9 billion
Location: 5 Freeway from State Route 55 to State Route 57
Description: A second carpool lane in each direction will be added. The concrete barrier adjacent to the existing lanes will be demolished. The demolition will require overnight closures on the northbound 5.
Period: Mid-2019 to Mid-2021
Cost: $41.6 million
Location: 5 Freeway from State Route 73 to El Toro Road
Description: A regular traffic lane in each direction will be added between Avery Parkway and Alicia Parkway. A carpool lane in each direction will be extended from El Toro Road to Alicia Parkway. Avery Parkway and La Paz Road interchanges will also be reconstructed.
Period: Mid-2019 to late 2024. Oso Parkway to Alicia Parkway segment will be the section under most construction in 2019.
Cost: $548 million
Location: OC Streetcar
Description: A 4.1 mile streetcar will connect Garden Grove to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center. The OC Streetcar is expected to carry about 7,300 passengers per day within its first year of operation, according to OCTA.
Period: A groundbreaking as been held.The line is expected to begin operating late 2021. A more detailed construction schedule is expected to be finalized in early 2019.
Cost: $408 million
Location: Oso Parkway Bridge
Description: A portion of Oso Parkway at Los Patrones Parkway near Las Flores is being converted into a bridge to allow drivers to connect directly between State Route 241 and Los Patrones Parkway.
Period: Completion by Fall 2020
Cost: $30 million
Location: State Route 57 at Lambert Road in Brea
Description: The ramps will be reconfigured and modified. About a half mile of auxiliary lanes will be added to the southbound 57, and the northbound Lambert Road bridge will be widened.
Period: July 2019 – July 2021
Cost: $107.4 million
Location: Eastbound State Route 22 in Orange and Santa Ana
Description: The so-called horseshoe connector between SR 22 and the 5 and 57 Freeways will be widened by a lane. Much of the concrete barriers will be removed.
Period: Mid-2019 to mid-2021
Cost: $20 million
Location: State Route 55
Description: Safety devices such as metal beam guardrail and curbs will be replaced, upgraded and added.
Period: To be completed by December 2019
Cost: $14 million
Location: Southbound 405 Freeway from Sand Canyon Avenue to Jamboree Road in Irvine
Description: Temporary median railing will be replaced by a permanent concrete barrier. The second auxiliary lane is being extended from Culver Drive to Jeffrey Road.
Period: To be completed by the end of 2019
Cost: $17.1 million