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71 Freeway Upgrade (Pomona) Likely to start in mid-2020

Started by don1991, December 10, 2019, 01:03:33 AM

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don1991

According to the MTA (Metro) Planning and Programming Committee report in November 2019:

"The State Route 71 (SR-71) Project Phase 1 has completed design and Caltrans is in the process of
acquiring the Rights-of-Way (ROW). Phase 1 will be ready to be advertised for construction in April
2020. Funding for construction must be programmed before Caltrans can advertise the Phase 1
project."

Phase I is probably more important:  This widens the current 4-lane roadway from Mission Blvd. south to California 60 to 8 lanes (6 MF + 2 HOV).  Note that this section is already effectively a freeway since the traffic signals were turned off (and since removed) a few years ago.  But this now builds it to full freeway standards.  Most houses have been purchased and have been torn down or are fenced off.  It looks like all of the ROW acquisition was on the western side of the 71.

Phase II would widen the substandard freeway section from I-10 to Mission Blvd. - from 4 lanes to 6+2 as well.  The very northern portion is already at standard but south of that, the old expressway was turned into freeway but never widened.


sparker

^^^^^^^^^^^
And that will in all likelihood be the last freeway constructed in Los Angeles County (at least south of the San Gabriels) in most of our lifetimes.  Now -- whether the narrow section from CA 83 south to CA 91 (in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) is ever expanded to a full freeway is yet TBD; its current chances are indeed slim. 

jakeroot

Could you link to a few examples of demolition? I'm checking out Google Maps and I'm not seeing anything along either side of the 71. But the imagery could be out of data if it was recent.

Just southeast of the 10/57 interchange, that crossing over the railway looks pretty narrow; is widening that part of phase 2?

Also, learned a new term today: "MF", meaning "mixed flow". WSDOT prefers "GP", or "general purpose".

djsekani

As much as people like to bring up induced demand, this is a project that definitely needed to happen; CA-71 was effectively a choke point between I-10 and CA-60.

The interesting part is that the ROW acquisition was mostly on the west side, which is where the relatively more expensive homes are. I guess those RIRO intersections (nearly useless in heavy traffic anyway) will be gone as well.

dbz77

Quote from: djsekani on January 21, 2020, 07:54:04 PM
As much as people like to bring up induced demand, this is a project that definitely needed to happen; CA-71 was effectively a choke point between I-10 and CA-60.

The interesting part is that the ROW acquisition was mostly on the west side, which is where the relatively more expensive homes are. I guess those RIRO intersections (nearly useless in heavy traffic anyway) will be gone as well.
I was fortunate to have been able to drive through the intersection with Miasion when there was a stoplight there.

I am.wondering this though.

This route had been intended to be a feeway since 1950. I wonder why it took nearly sixty years to build the Miasion Bl interchange.

theroadwayone

Quote from: dbz77 on January 21, 2020, 09:19:48 PM
Quote from: djsekani on January 21, 2020, 07:54:04 PM
As much as people like to bring up induced demand, this is a project that definitely needed to happen; CA-71 was effectively a choke point between I-10 and CA-60.

The interesting part is that the ROW acquisition was mostly on the west side, which is where the relatively more expensive homes are. I guess those RIRO intersections (nearly useless in heavy traffic anyway) will be gone as well.
I was fortunate to have been able to drive through the intersection with Miasion when there was a stoplight there.

I am.wondering this though.

This route had been intended to be a feeway since 1950. I wonder why it took nearly sixty years to build the Miasion Bl interchange.
Where do you think the road even is?

The Ghostbuster

What modifications are going to be made to the three at-grade intersections that presently exist? Will Old Pomona Rd., N. Ranch Rd. and W. Phillips Dr. all be cul-de-saced? Or will they be connected with surrounding streets while CA 71 passes over or under them?

sparker

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on January 22, 2020, 06:47:22 PM
What modifications are going to be made to the three at-grade intersections that presently exist? Will Old Pomona Rd., N. Ranch Rd. and W. Phillips Dr. all be cul-de-saced? Or will they be connected with surrounding streets while CA 71 passes over or under them?

Since the Mission Blvd. interchange was complete, it looks like all those intersections have been converted to RIRO's; there's no current break(s) in the center divider.  Haven't seen current conversion plans and whether interim access between Rio Rancho/CA 60 and Mission will even exist; if anyone has access to such plans, please post them or otherwise enlighten all of us!  It doesn't look like any interchanges would be possible along the stretch in question without considerable property taking (something Caltrans assiduously avoids these days if at all possible!).  Since there never seemed to be a locally-desired need for connection between the older parts of the city to the east and the newer development west of CA 71, it just may be that a simple frontage road (probably necessitating a narrow median) or just cul-de-sacs would suffice. 

skluth

Quote from: djsekani on January 21, 2020, 07:54:04 PM
As much as people like to bring up induced demand, this is a project that definitely needed to happen; CA-71 was effectively a choke point between I-10 and CA-60.

The interesting part is that the ROW acquisition was mostly on the west side, which is where the relatively more expensive homes are. I guess those RIRO intersections (nearly useless in heavy traffic anyway) will be gone as well.

I can't see much environmental group resistance on this. The highway is already there and needs to be squeezed into a built-up area. They have far more important issues to concern them than a busier highway through an upper middle-class community (like the High Desert Freeway  :-/ :rolleyes: ) . I think local NIMBYs worried about loss of their homes, added noise, and local RIRO access is more likely to interfere with any CA 71 upgrades.

fungus

The right in right outs are going to be eliminated. The residents next to the freeway did not want a frontage road and so there will not be one, so those living on Phillips, Old Pomona, and North Ranch get to be in a cul de sac. The full takes occurred with the interchange at Mission Boulevard and there might be one full take for the future 9th Street bridge, and the backyards of some of the homes in the Phillips Drive section, otherwise it can fit in existing right of way.

http://www.ci.pomona.ca.us/mm/pubwrks/pdf/sr71/SR71_Council_Report.pdf

https://pomona.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3872873&GUID=34A6B80C-617F-4285-92C8-53662949CC9F&Options=ID|Text|Attachments|&Search=%22state+route+71%22

sparker

^^^^^^^^^
Since none of the homes on the west side actually fronted on CA 71 but rather on either parallel or intersecting streets -- and those nearest the 71 ROW may be acquired for the construction -- the normal CA idiom for newer tracts being somewhat isolated from arterial routes would be maintained by turning the existing access points into cul-de-sacs.  Installing a frontage road behind the remaining housing wouldn't provide much of a benefit to the residents in the immediate area -- so it was likely eliminated from the mix.  Perceived security has long been a selling point for housing tracts in CA; quick access from adjacent freeways, while useful with regards to commuting, is often seen as undermining that aspect of property desirabillity.  A cynical view of this might project that the property values west of 71 might actually increase once the project is completed and access to the housing is limited to the streets north and south of that stretch of upgraded freeway. 

fungus

In the case of Pomona, this is definitely the case as Phillips Ranch has never had much of a connection with "old" Pomona on the east side of the 71. The communities east of the 71 have been perceived to have much higher crime, and a bridge north of the Rio Rancho bridge would just enable those residents to easier access Phillips Ranch, not to mention costly and require property takes. I do notice the Rio Rancho bridge and interchange becoming more congested than in the past, although a lot has to do with the new development that has sprung up at that point, despite Pomona's tax rate being 2.5% higher than San Bernardino County's.

fungus

The right in right outs on the west side of SR-71 have been closed and construction is under way, although about a year behind schedule. Streetsblog, for all its slant, has interviewed some of the people who haven't moved out yet from the freeway's path and has some construction photos here: https://la.streetsblog.org/2021/07/13/pomona-families-holding-out-against-caltrans-metro-home-demolitions-for-71-widening/

sparker

Quote from: fungus on July 19, 2021, 04:20:50 AM
The right in right outs on the west side of SR-71 have been closed and construction is under way, although about a year behind schedule. Streetsblog, for all its slant, has interviewed some of the people who haven't moved out yet from the freeway's path and has some construction photos here: https://la.streetsblog.org/2021/07/13/pomona-families-holding-out-against-caltrans-metro-home-demolitions-for-71-widening/

Obviously the job is underway and not stoppable at this point (any potential court orders notwithstanding), but if D7's eminent domain tactics are as nasty and condescending as the blog (decidedly critical of the project) infers, an inquiry -- hopefully by an independent body -- would be appropriate.  OTOH, the project has been in the works for over a decade, and the individual private property owners should have received that information and the legal ramifications thereof over a decade ago.  If D7 failed to do so with a multilingual effort and/or "bait and switch" tactics when compensating for relocation needs, then they should be taken to task -- but otherwise the onus is equally parsed out to Caltrans and the residents.  Of course, there will be sociopolitically-motivated questioning of the freeway project itself, but that is to be expected in today's environment.  Seeing that it will be the last D7 project south of the San Gabriel Mountains that doesn't entail modification of existing freeway facilities in the foreseeable future, absorbing such criticism, although a thankless task, won't be a never-ending process; once 71 is up and running, and the residents appropriately relocated, it'll be just another regional freeway.   

Occidental Tourist

What is described has always been D7's M.O.  I know attorneys who work at D7 and the culture there that they've been inculcated into is that plaintiffs in eminent domain and negligent design cases are all greedy bastards being led around by ambulance-chasing attorneys.  Probably true some of the time, but not all of the time.  The story of the murder-suicide is awful, but D7 harassing the hell out of recalcitrant homeowners is unfortunately not unusual.

That being said, if you bought a house anytime within the last 10 years on the edge of that neihborhood, I don't have much sympathy for you other than for whatever valuation shenanigans D7 might have been doing.  The widening of the 71 has been public record for awhile.

Plutonic Panda

Update. This project is well underway and should be entirely finished by 2027:

QuoteOHLA USA Inc. began work on Phase 1 of the California Department of Transportation's (Caltrans) SR-71 Expressway to Freeway Conversion Project in spring 2021 and crews are hard at work to deliver it by summer 2025.

The $174.544 million project, taking place in the city of Pomona, covers 2.7 mi. between SR 71/I-10 interchange (Mission Boulevard) and the Los Angeles/San Bernardino County Line.
Phase 2 of the project, the North Segment, covers the area from the SR 71/I-10 interchange to Mission Boulevard. Construction is expected to begin next spring, with a completion in spring 2027.
What's Being Built

Thus far, OHLA USA has completed Stage 1 of the roadway jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) roadway project, which included demolition of existing AC/JPCP, excavation and backfill of base, placement/revisions to existing drainage systems and placement of new JPCP.
"The construction of three of the requisite six retaining walls is ongoing," said Jason Goldsbrough, OHLA's senior project manager. "The three walls are more than 75 percent complete. Also underway is the construction of a double concrete box culvert and shoring for an 800-foot-long single box culvert. Additionally, workers are performing drainage system construction under the highway and alongside the retaining wall. The drainage system work is about 40 percent complete."

- https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/ohla-converting-expressway-into-freeway-in-california/62299

The Ghostbuster

There are still a few at-grade connections on the southern-most portion of CA 71 between its southern terminus at CA 91, and the CA 83 S. Euclid Rd./Butterfield Ranch Rd. interchange. I assume those will remain.

Occidental Tourist

Those aren't part of the northern 71 project but are addressed by the 91/71 flyover project. The current at grade intersection on the 71 that allows for left turns near the dam is being moved north approximately 1/4 of a mile as part of that flyover project. It  appears that left turns will still be allowed at the new location. The other private access RIRO intersections between Euclid and the 91 are unchanged.



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