OCTA will hold series of public meetings on 405 Freeway expansion project

The Orange County Transportation Authority will present public meetings in Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa as part of a six-city series of events this month and next to provide information about the ongoing 405 Freeway expansion project.

Each session will run from 6 to 8 p.m. and will include the same information, according to OCTA.

The $1.9-billion freeway project covers a 16-mile stretch between the 73 Freeway in Costa Mesa and the 605 Freeway near the Los Angeles County line.

The project includes building one new general-purpose lane in each direction between the 605 and Euclid Street and adding a new lane in both directions between the 605 and the 73 that, combined with the existing carpool lanes, will create “express” toll lanes much like those on the 91 Freeway.

Officials broke ground on the project in January and expect to start more-visible construction — such as re-striping parts of the roadway and setting up concrete barriers to shield work areas — in coming months.

Work such as paving and bridge demolition are scheduled to start later this year, according to OCTA.

The whole project, which officials describe as the largest currently under construction in California, is expected to be completed in 2023.

Here is the public workshop schedule:

• May 10: Westminster Senior Center, 8200 Westminster Blvd.

• May 24: Egg Auditorium, VA Long Beach Healthcare, 5901 E. Seventh St.

• May 31: Fountain Valley School District boardroom, 10055 Slater Ave.

• June 5: Senior Center in Central Park, 18041 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach

• June 7: Rush Park Auditorium, 3021 Blume Drive, Rossmoor

• June 14: Orange Coast College Student Center, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney