For years it has been easy to tell where Orange County ends while driving to L.A. because the quality of the 5 and 405 freeways diminished markedly after crossing the county line. OC has now pulled further ahead in the competition for good interstates. The 405 Improvement Project, one of the most impactful infrastructure projects of the past decade, is garnering post-completion accolades.
It was selected as Project of the Year by the American Society of Civil Engineers Orange County Branch, and in October, the Engineering News-Record (ENR) honored the 405 upgrade as the Best Highway or Bridge Project in Southern California. ENR is a weekly magazine regarded as one of the construction industry’s most authoritative publications.
The $2.16 billion, 16-mile megaproject stretches from Costa Mesa nearly to the Long Beach border. Though it does not traverse Irvine, its impact on the city is significant. Businesses and local commuters who depend upon connections to Los Angeles, Long Beach and north Orange County have endured less traffic since the project debuted in December.
The Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans project was one of the largest design-build infrastructure freeway projects in the nation, along one of the most congested freeway segments in the country. The project’s centerpiece, the 405 Express Lanes, has noticeably improved rush-hour gridlock while also generating revenue for future improvements. It’s estimated that commute times will be cut in half for nearly 400,000 daily drivers.
Funding to design and complete the project included nearly $1.4 billion from Measure M, the half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements first approved by Orange County voters in 1990 and renewed in 2006.
Measure M’s impact continues. In October, the OCTA allocated up to $42.4 million in Measure M funds to enhance mobility and reduce congestion through seasonal trolleys, special-event shuttles and on-demand services, including $5.4 million to Irvine for a Special Event Circulator.
“Our primary mission at OCTA is to keep Orange County moving, and this is another great example of working with cities to best meet their needs and help make public transit an attractive option for people to get where they need to be,” OCTA Chair Tam T. Nguyen says.
