Freeway Job Done, Traffic Goes in Flow

The detour signs on the Artesia and Riverside freeways came down this week, easing the commute through one of the busiest thoroughfares of the county.

While major construction continues on the Santa Ana Freeway and on nearby city streets in Anaheim, the end of the 40-month, $180-million project should make the commute through the heart of Orange County a little less arduous.

“People are already saying they have seen a noticeable difference” with the construction over, said Dave Simpson, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority.

The project added carpool lanes along 11 1/2 miles of freeway between the Los Angeles County line and the Orange Freeway; a direct carpool connector at the Riverside-Orange freeway interchange, which opened last year; and a connector road to ease congestion near Disneyland.

It is the fourth of six major freeway improvements to be completed that have been funded by Measure M, the half-cent county sales tax passed in 1990 for transportation projects.

“What you are seeing now is the end of the massive freeway-widening projects,” Simpson said. “The next step is turning toward fixing those choke points throughout the county.”

The completion of the latest project is to be celebrated today at a 9:30 a.m. transportation fair at Metro Center in Fullerton at Orangethorpe Avenue and Harbor Boulevard.