Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : COUNTY : New I-5 Plans Call for Doubling Freeway Lanes

The Orange County Transportation Commission wants Caltrans to put its money where its approval is when it comes to a plan to double the lanes on a nine-mile stretch of the Santa Ana Freeway.

Caltrans notified county transportation officials Oct. 10 of its recommendation to widen Interstate 5 from six lanes to 12 along a nine-mile section from the Costa Mesa Freeway to where it joins the San Diego Freeway in Irvine.

State approval for the $118-million project was crucial, according to Stan Oftelie, executive director of the county commission. But without full funding, the extra lanes won’t be built. More than $57 million has been set aside by the state for the project.

Caltrans’ recommendation to add the six lanes--three in each direction-- was crucial to alleviating the congested freeway’s traffic woes, county officials said. Under the plan, one lane in each direction will be set aside for buses and car pools.

Other alternatives outlined in an environmental study included widening the freeway by only one lane, but Caltrans opted for the more expansive scheme, county officials said.