I-5 Central County upgrade plans ready for review

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Joel Zlotnik (714) 560-5713 Aug. 25, 2014; Eric Carpenter (714) 560-5697

I-5 Central County Upgrade Plans Ready for Review

Public is invited to read and comment on the Measure M project’s environmental study by Sept. 12

ORANGE – Residents and commuters are invited to an open house to learn about the planned improvement project on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) through central county and to provide comments on the project’s environmental documents that were recently released.

The Orange County Transportation Authority, in cooperation with Caltrans, is proposing to relieve traffic congestion, eliminate bottlenecks and improve traffic operations on I-5 between the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR-55) and the Orange Freeway (SR-57) through the cities of Santa Ana, Orange and Tustin.

The public is invited to attend an open house between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at Rancho Santiago Community College in the board room at 2323 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA.

The environmental documents – an initial study/environmental assessment – will be available for review during the open house, as well as during regular business hours at the following locations:

• Santa Ana Public Library, 26 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
• Orange Public Library, 407 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange, CA 92866
• Tustin Library, 345 E. Main Street, Tustin, CA 92780

The study evaluates a build alternative and a no-build alternative. The build alternative includes removing the barrier between the carpool lane and general-purpose lane, adding a second carpool lane in each direction, restriping for continuous access, and removing the carpool on- and off-ramps at the I-5/Main street interchange to improve operations.

Currently, 390,000 drivers a day travel the I-5 between the SR-55 and SR-57. Projected traffic volumes are expected to increase 19 percent by 2030, bringing the total to 464,000 motorists per day through the area. The four-mile, $42 million project is funded by Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, as well as state dollars.

The complete IS/EA is available online at www.octa.net/I5central and http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist12/I-5HOV. Maps for the proposed IS/EA and other project information are available for review and copying (for a fee) at the Caltrans District 12 Office, at 3347 Michelson Dr., Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92612 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Public comments will be received through 5 p.m. on Sept. 12, 2014. To submit comments, please mail to Caltrans District 12 Office, 3347 Michelson Dr., Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92612-8894 (Attn: Edward Dolan) or via email: I5HOV55to57.D12@dot.ca.gov.

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