Analyses of Options for Adding New Lane to Eastbound 91 to Start Soon

CORONA (CNS) – Analyses of how to go about adding one more general purpose lanes to the eastbound Riverside (91) Freeway along the boundary separating Riverside and Orange counties will begin this summer.

Earlier this month, the Riverside County Transportation Commission approved an engineering contract to start the process of comparing different design plans for the "91 Eastbound Corridor Operations Project," which would entail constructing a new lane between state Route 241 in Anaheim Hills and the Corona (71) Expressway.

The project is a combined enterprise of RCTC, the Orange County Transportation Authority, Caltrans and the city of Corona.

"Economic opportunities and population growth in Riverside County create commuting challenges across our region, including on the 91," RCTC Board of Directors Chair Robert Magee said. "The 91 Eastbound Corridor Operations Project study provides a path towards improving traffic flow and safety that will help keep our region moving."

RCTC has applied for $3 million in federal transportation funds to cover the engineering and environmental analyses, which will likely take two years to complete. A future groundbreaking date for the project cannot be set until the studies are finished.

There are currently seven lanes available on the 91 eastbound, between the 241 and 71, but two of those are toll lanes.

According to RCTC, adding another general purpose lane will facilitate higher traffic volumes on the heavily used corridor and will complement the 71/91 Interchange now under construction on the west end of Corona.

That $137 million project entails reconfiguring the existing single- lane loop connector between the 71 and 91 by constructing two lanes and adding an auxiliary lane to the eastbound 91 between Green River Road and the redesigned interchange.

The 71/91 Interchange Project is slated for completion in 2025.

Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.