Commuting Time Alarming as Fire Closes Roads

A wildfire that forced the closure of parts of Orange County’s tollways has boosted the travel time for thousands of Riverside and Orange County commuters by up to an hour.

The fire, which officials attributed to a controlled burn that got out of control, charred more than 6,500 acres of chaparral, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes.

Riverside County residents commuting to Orange County on Monday and Tuesday mornings found themselves stuck in traffic for 30 minutes to an hour longer than usual as three sections of the Eastern toll roads (261, 241 and 133) remained closed, CHP officer Denise Quesada said. The closures have pushed traffic onto three already congested freeways, the Riverside, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, which, officials say, are experiencing some of their busiest traffic days ever.

The 91 Express Lanes, which run adjacent to the Riverside Freeway from Anaheim to Riverside, reported a record high of 52,540 vehicles Monday, about 15,540 more than usual, said Michael Litchi, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which operates the toll road.

“It wasn’t very express,” said Paul McGrady, 43, of Chino Hills, who took the route to work in Placentia. “It was just terrible.”

McGrady, who plans on taking side streets to work until the closures are lifted, said his morning commute was more than an hour longer than usual.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operate the Eastern toll roads, announced that fees were being waived at two plazas, Orange Grove going south and Irvine Ranch going north, to ease traffic conditions. The waivers will be in effect until the 241 reopens, spokeswoman Clare Climaco said.

Transportation officials said the closed roads could reopen as early as this afternoon. In the meantime, the California Highway Patrol urges commuters to allow at least an extra hour to reach their destinations.

“You don’t have a lot of choices,” said CHP Officer Colleen Richardson, who commutes daily from Corona to Santa Ana. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

Richardson said she sat in traffic for two hours Tuesday morning to get to work, a trip that usually takes 30 minutes.

“There is going to be added time to your commute no matter where you’re going or what streets you’re taking,” said Richardson, who tried to avoid the highways by taking some side streets.

Chino resident Alicia Andrade, 42, said she planned to shorten her commute by avoiding the Riverside Freeway in favor of the Orange Freeway on her trip home from Anaheim on Tuesday evening. She made that decision, Andrade said, after experiencing the commute Tuesday morning. “It was disgusting, so heavy, just bumper-to-bumper,” said Andrade, who was stuck in traffic almost two hours.

Those wishing to avoid driving altogether took Metrolink, which saw a 2% increase in ridership -- about 6,300 people -- from Monday to Tuesday. Orange County Transportation Authority officials, on the other hand, reported no increase in bus ridership.