Riverside (91) Freeway widening near done after $1.4B

[bing101]

http://mynewsla.com/life/2017/03/10/riverside-91-freeway-widening-near-done-after-1-4b/


Lanes are opening soon.

[MaxConcrete]

RCTC crews will open one additional general purpose lane on each side of the 91 between the Corona (71) Expressway and Interstate 15, as well as two additional express toll lanes on both sides of the 91 from I-15 to the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.

My understanding is that there are already four express lanes (two each way) between CA 71 and CA 55, the 91 Express lanes (https://www.91expresslanes.com/)

This article says there will be two additional toll lanes on both sides, which doesn't sound right. Will there be eight toll lanes, four each way? Did they really mean to say there will be four new toll lanes between CA 71 and I-15?

[Bigmikelakers]

This article says there will be two additional toll lanes on both sides, which doesn't sound right. Will there be eight toll lanes, four each way? Did they really mean to say there will be four new toll lanes between CA 71 and I-15?

They extended the current toll lanes that end at the county line out to the 15.

[Occidental Tourist]

http://mynewsla.com/life/2017/03/10/riverside-91-freeway-widening-near-done-after-1-4b/

In this article: Picture of western Corona near Prado Dam mislabeled as Jurupa Valley.

[sparker]

This article says there will be two additional toll lanes on both sides, which doesn't sound right. Will there be eight toll lanes, four each way? Did they really mean to say there will be four new toll lanes between CA 71 and I-15?

They extended the current toll lanes that end at the county line out to the 15.

And it took years of political negotiation to extend what was originally a dedicated OCTA property (after the original P-P entity went bankrupt) into Riverside County, with its separate MPO.  The realization that Corona and environs had effectively become a residential extension of Orange County took a while to sink in with OC policymakers, who were, for a long time, reluctant to support a project that would benefit commuters who elected to locate out of county. 

This type of parochialism has effectively stymied one additional related project -- connecting the 91 toll lanes directly to the southbound 241 toll road (the "shortcut" to Irvine and other south county employment locales).  Different agencies, different toll-collection methodologies, and different agendas -- hardly a recipe for interagency cooperation.   

[The Ghostbuster]

Have there been any proposals to extend the 91 lanes any further in either direction, either in the near or the distant future?

[AsphaltPlanet]

^ Or have their been any proposals to extend the toll lanes down the 15 freeway towards the Lake Elsinore Region?

[Bigmikelakers]

And it took years of political negotiation to extend what was originally a dedicated OCTA property (after the original P-P entity went bankrupt) into Riverside County, with its separate MPO.  The realization that Corona and environs had effectively become a residential extension of Orange County took a while to sink in with OC policymakers, who were, for a long time, reluctant to support a project that would benefit commuters who elected to locate out of county. 

This type of parochialism has effectively stymied one additional related project -- connecting the 91 toll lanes directly to the southbound 241 toll road (the "shortcut" to Irvine and other south county employment locales).  Different agencies, different toll-collection methodologies, and different agendas -- hardly a recipe for interagency cooperation.   

I agree. A connector between the 241 and the 91 Express Lanes needs to happen ASAP. I take that route about once a month or so after work and the backup at the 91 terminus is some of the worse traffic I've ever been in non accident related.

I really think there should have been an EB 91 Tollroad to NB 15/SB 15 to WB 91 Tollroad connector to anticipate future development in the Eastvale/Southern Ontario area.

Last but not least, the Riverside County portion of the 71 needs be widened down there too. What you said about Orange County would also apply to Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in this case since that would benefit mostly San Bernardino County commuters. Although plenty of Eastvale commuters use that route too.

^ Or have their been any proposals to extend the toll lanes down the 15 freeway towards the Lake Elsinore Region?

The farthest south they want to extend them is down to Caljaco Rd. Part of a proposed project to have toll lanes go as far north to the 60. Honestly, I think the focus on that stretch of highway should be to add an extra general purpose or carpool lane in each direction instead of toll lanes since 15 is basically a six lane except in stretches around Corona/Norco and Temecula.

[sparker]

Have there been any proposals to extend the 91 lanes any further in either direction, either in the near or the distant future?

^ Or have their been any proposals to extend the toll lanes down the 15 freeway towards the Lake Elsinore Region?

The existing HOV lanes east from the 15/91 Corona interchange currently extend as far east as Arlington Ave. in Riverside; there is current construction on 91 in downtown Riverside to extend those to the 60/215 junction.  When I lived down in SoCal 5 years ago, there was some talk about converting the 91 HOV lanes to HOT lanes; if those were to be incorporated into any extension, that would add about 17 miles to the 91  toll continuum.  Except for the Santa Ana River twin bridges, there is ample room in the median of the presently 6-lane I-15 freeway to deploy both an additional GP lane as well as dedicated HOV or toll lanes as far as CA 60; north of there -- in San Bernardino County -- there is a finished lane area (again, except for bridges) currently not in use, ostensibly for HOV/HOT lanes down the line.  Interestingly, this preliminary work regarding additional lanes has been done only in San Bernardino County; the Riverside County segment of I-15 features simply "bare earth" in the median (with a K-rail) and the original 1992-built 6-lane alignment intact -- although the AADT of that segment would certainly warrant at least an additional GP lane per direction.     

[Plutonic Panda]

Any chance someone could grab some pics?

[MarkF]

Here's info on the 241 to 91 direct toll connector:
https://www.thetollroads.com/about/projects/241-91-connector

I hope to get a video the next time I go through the area, I have a couple up of the construction in this thread:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14173.msg2130131#msg2130131

[sparker]

Here's info on the 241 to 91 direct toll connector:
https://www.thetollroads.com/about/projects/241-91-connector

I hope to get a video the next time I go through the area, I have a couple up of the construction in this thread:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14173.msg2130131#msg2130131

Well -- someone actually put their brain into gear on this.  Good to know -- if I'm still kicking after 2020 (OK, let's say 2021 just to be on the safe side of "unforeseen delays"), look forward to taking a look at this new connector. 

[Bigmikelakers]

I've been checking Google Maps for traffic on the 91 through Corona all morning and it seems like its not as bad as it usually is. The 15 North to 91 West ramp wasn't backed up as it usually is this morning. Maybe the express lane fly over is helping. Too early to tell though. I plan to drive that stretch this Friday without a transponder and in the next few weeks try it again with a transponder to tell if there's actually a difference in traffic.

[don1991]

I've been checking Google Maps for traffic on the 91 through Corona all morning and it seems like its not as bad as it usually is. The 15 North to 91 West ramp wasn't backed up as it usually is this morning. Maybe the express lane fly over is helping. Too early to tell though. I plan to drive that stretch this Friday without a transponder and in the next few weeks try it again with a transponder to tell if there's actually a difference in traffic.

Another big reason why the I-15 NB connector to the WB CA-91 is working so well is due to how many due aux. lanes were added.  I-15 coming in now has two lanes that remain all the way to Lincoln.  Also, the transition lanes from I-15 (NB and SB) to CA-91 act as kind of a collector road on the 91 until well past Main Street.  So CA-91 WB has 2 express lanes plus 4 general purpose lanes passing through I-15.  In come 3 then 2 lanes from I-15.  So CA-91 is 2 Express Plus 6 General Purpose until Lincoln when Lane # 6 exits, leaving the 2 Express + 5 GP all the way to the 241.

The old I-15 situation forced 2 lanes of incoming traffic from I-15 NB to quickly merge into CA-91's 4 existing GP lanes and do so before the Main Street exit.  Too quickly and two few lanes.  The new configuration as I described has done much more for 91 traffic than the express lane connector, though that still helps.

Don

[sparker]

I've been checking Google Maps for traffic on the 91 through Corona all morning and it seems like its not as bad as it usually is. The 15 North to 91 West ramp wasn't backed up as it usually is this morning. Maybe the express lane fly over is helping. Too early to tell though. I plan to drive that stretch this Friday without a transponder and in the next few weeks try it again with a transponder to tell if there's actually a difference in traffic.

Another big reason why the I-15 NB connector to the WB CA-91 is working so well is due to how many due aux. lanes were added.  I-15 coming in now has two lanes that remain all the way to Lincoln.  Also, the transition lanes from I-15 (NB and SB) to CA-91 act as kind of a collector road on the 91 until well past Main Street.  So CA-91 WB has 2 express lanes plus 4 general purpose lanes passing through I-15.  In come 3 then 2 lanes from I-15.  So CA-91 is 2 Express Plus 6 General Purpose until Lincoln when Lane # 6 exits, leaving the 2 Express + 5 GP all the way to the 241.

The old I-15 situation forced 2 lanes of incoming traffic from I-15 NB to quickly merge into CA-91's 4 existing GP lanes and do so before the Main Street exit.  Too quickly and two few lanes.  The new configuration as I described has done much more for 91 traffic than the express lane connector, though that still helps.

Don

5 GP + 2 express?  For Caltrans D8 and D12 in this day & age, that's bloody amazing!  I had to use that road at least twice per week between my old Ontario office and corporate HQ in Irvine between 2003 and 2010 and dreaded each trip no matter what time of day!  In this case, the strategy of damn the PC -- apply brute force of numbers -- seems to be working, according to the above account.  I'll be down that way in late May or early June on business, so this is something I've got to see for myself (I'll probably still avoid eastbound between 3 and 7pm, however -- not that stupid!).  Now if someone can get Caltrans D4 to apply the same standards to 101 between Gilroy and SJ...........   

[Bigmikelakers]

I took the 241 to the 91 Friday. Took 45 minutes to go from the final toll plaza on the 241 to finally merging onto the 91. That area is brutal. Thought it would have improved with the new lanes (I guess we will have to wait until 2020 when the new 241 to 91 Express lane connector gets built). Once I got passed Green River, BOOM! its 80 mph in the general lanes of the 91 up to about Main St in Corona. Which is pretty great and not seen before considering its Friday night at 545 PM. The new express lanes however, were a complete parking lot. It was so bad I felt sad driving past all the express lane commuters stopped in traffic. I think the reason why the express lanes were so backed up was because once you get to the 15, only one lane keeps you on the 91 and the other for SB 15 which in turn causes a bottleneck situation. Reminds me of the double carpool lane on SB 405 at the 22 merge where one lane stays on the 405 and the other to the 22. Always traffic on that spot during the morning commute.