Drivers will soon get a green light on new lanes that widen over 16 miles of I-405.
The new lanes will open on Dec. 1, five years after the Orange County Transportation Authority began work on a 16-mile stretch of the freeway through central and north OC.
The I-405 Improvement Project adds one new regular lane in each direction between Euclid Street in Fountain Valley and I-605. It adds one new Express Lane in each direction between I-605 in Seal Beach and SR-73 in Costa Mesa.
Solo drivers, along with car pools during peak hours, can pay tolls to use the Express Lanes. All vehicles must have a FasTrak transponder and valid account. OCTA says the toll lanes are designed to keep a free flow of traffic, cutting travel time almost in half along that 16-mile stretch.
“The improvements also increase access to job centers, health care and educational facilities,” says OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson.
The $2.1 billion project is considered among the most significant infrastructure improvement projects in recent California history. Funding was made possible, in part, through the passage of Orange County’s Measure M, a half-cent sales tax for transportation.
