OC Board Eyes Toll Lanes Along 405 Freeway Near LA County Line
ORANGE (CBSLA.com) — Transportation officials Monday will consider a proposal to add toll lanes along the San Diego (405) Freeway in western Orange County.
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to continue exploring the addition of toll lanes on the 405 as a way to improve traffic between the Garden Grove (55) Freeway in Costa Mesa and the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) at the Los Angeles County line.
Any project built will include at least one free lane in each direction as part of the I-405 Improvement Project that is funded through Measure M, the county's half-cent sales tax for transportation, according to OCTA.
A partnership between OCTA and Caltrans is in the environmental phase of improving the I-405 between the Costa Mesa area and the Orange County/Los Angeles County line, officials said.
Under the Caltrans proposal, pay lanes would be added in the same spot where the county is spending $1.3 billion to widen the freeway.
Over the next two months, OCTA will examine possible tolling policies and how excess toll revenue could be used to fund additional improvements to public transportation in the area, officials said.
OCTA Board chairman Shawn Nelson told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO he remains skeptical of what's currently being proposed by Caltrans.
"Caltrans is saying what they would like to do is to also do a project within our project, and practically speaking, that's very unlikely," said Nelson.
The 405 Freeway is considered the busiest stretch of freeway in the U.S., carrying more than 370,000 cars a day.