Bridge and Carpool Lanes to Open on Riverside, Orange Freeways

A freeway bridge and several miles of carpool lanes are set to open today on two heavily traveled Orange County freeways.

Motorists on the Riverside and Orange freeways in Anaheim will be able to use a new bridge connecting the two. The span and 11.5 miles of new carpool lanes should reduce traffic congestion and increase by 65,000 the number of vehicles that the Riverside Freeway can accommodate daily, a Caltrans spokeswoman said.

“The 91 was long overdue for improvements because the demand had far exceeded its capacity,� spokeswoman Rose Orem said. Caltrans’ hope is that the bridge and lanes will cut commute time and improve air quality, she said.

The Riverside Freeway logs about 200,000 vehicle trips a day at the intersection, Orem said.

The new lanes will stretch to the Los Angeles County line. Orem said carpoolers now can make the transition between the freeways without changing lanes. Access is for those traveling from the southbound Orange Freeway to the eastbound Riverside Freeway and from the westbound Riverside Freeway to the northbound Orange Freeway.

The bridge is Orange County’s fourth to link carpool lanes between major freeways. A fifth at the Santa Ana and Riverside freeways is expected to be finished by year’s end.

This week’s opening of the bridge and carpool lanes marks completion of a major portion of a $180-million project begun in 1997 by Caltrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority to ease traffic congestion on the Riverside Freeway. The rest of the project is to be completed by May. Revenue from Measure M, the half-cent sales tax passed by Orange County voters in 1990, funded 80% of the project.

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New Connection

New direct connectors linking the carpool lanes on the Orange and Riverside freeways will open today. Caltrans officials say the flyover should ease congestion and eliminate weaving.