The OC Go freeway program includes 30 project segments that will remedy traffic chokepoints and relieve congestion on Orange County freeways. To date, 13 freeway segments have been completed and four more are in construction during 2020.
I-5 (SR-55 and SR-57) Project
In partnership with Caltrans, OCTA added a second high occupancy vehicle lane in both directions along I-5 between SR-55 and SR-57 to relieve traffic congestion, alleviate bottlenecks and improve traffic operations on this corridor within the cities of Orange, Santa Ana and Tustin. The new high occupancy vehicle lanes opened to traffic in August 2020 and construction activities were completed in December 2020.
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I-405 Improvement Project
This $2 billion project will improve 16 miles of the I‐405 in both directions between SR-73 and I-605 through the cities of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster. The project will add one regular lane in each direction between Euclid Street and I-605 and make improvements to freeway entrances, exits and bridges. Also, the project will add the 405 Express Lanes, incorporating the existing carpool lanes and a new lane in each direction between SR-73 and I-605. The general-purpose lane portion of the project is funded by OC Go with a combination of local, state and federal funds. The 405 Express Lanes are separately funded and will be paid for by those who choose to pay a toll and use them.
OCTA continued significant work on replacing and reconstructing street crossings with wider bridges along the project corridor. In October 2020, the Bushard Street and McFadden Avenue bridges fully opened to traffic. These are one-stage bridges, which means they are closed to traffic during reconstruction. In addition, the first halves of the new Bolsa Chica Road (March 2020) Goldenwest Street (June 2020), and Magnolia Avenue (June 2020) bridges opened to traffic. These are two-stage bridges, which means traffic is being maintained on the remaining portion of the bridge while the first half of the new bridge is reconstructed. Of the 18 total bridge replacements, 11 bridges are under construction, three have been completed, and four are anticipated to start construction in 2021.
As of December 2020, the project was approximately 50 percent complete and is anticipated to be finished in 2023.
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I-5 (SR-73 to El Toro Road) Widening Project
From SR-73 to El Toro Road, OCTA and Caltrans are working together to implement the I-5 Widening Project to address traffic volume, which is anticipated to increase 25 percent by 2045.
Located adjacent to the cities of Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, and Mission Viejo, the $577 million freeway improvement project will be built in three segments and includes numerous roadway, structural and operational improvements.
In 2020, the southern segment (SR-73 to Oso Parkway) and northern segment (Alicia Parkway to El Toro Road) started construction in January and October, respectively. In addition, construction continued on the middle segment (Oso Parkway and Alicia Parkway), which includes reconstruction of the La Paz Road interchange. All three segments are now under construction, with the first segment anticipated to be completed in 2023.
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