An important highway upgrade is underway in California – image courtesy of © Christian Mueller-clausnitzer | Dreamstime.com
Construction work is well underway for the I-405 highway upgrade in California’s Orange County. The project is being managed by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in partnership with The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
The work is being carried out along a 25.6km stretch of the highway and is intended to boost capacity. Costing US$1.9 billion, the work should be complete by the third quarter of 2023.
Carrying around 300,000 vehicles/day, the I-405 route has to cope with heavy traffic loads and can suffer from heavy congestion at peak periods. This is one of the busiest roads in Southern California. The widening work is being carried out between State Route 73 (SR-73) and Interstate 605 (I-605).
Work on the project includes building five new bridges that cross I-405 as well as improvements to 18 existing overpasses. According to the OCTA, the project will boost capacity, improve traffic flow at the interchanges, and improve road safety to meet state and federal standards.
The OCTA says that the I-405 Improvement Project includes the addition of one regular lane in each direction from Euclid Street to I-605, as well as improvements to the highway entrances, exits and bridges. It will also include the construction of the 405 Express Lanes, which will incorporate the existing carpool lanes and consist of two lanes in each direction from SR-73 to I-605. Solo drivers will pay a toll to use the 405 Express Lanes. Carpoolers will be able to use the lanes for free however.
