Octa's transportation blog

Improvements to the Costa Mesa Freeway Are Coming

The Costa Mesa SR-55 Freeway is one of the most heavily congested freeways in Southern California, and OCTA in partnership with Caltrans is planning to widen it. The agencies are evaluating options for improving SR-55 in both directions between Interstate 405 and Interstate 5, through the cities of Santa Ana, Irvine and Tustin.

The project is in the environmental phase, and the original Draft Environmental Document was made available to the public in November 2015. As a result of comments received during the public circulation of the Draft Environmental Document, an additional alternative was included for study – Alternative 3 Modified. Alternative 3M includes new carpool, general-purpose and auxiliary lanes in each direction.

A supplemental Draft Environmental Document focusing on the analysis of Alternative 3M was prepared and made available in April for public comment. The comment period has closed; however, the original and supplemental Draft Environmental Documents are available here

Once a preferred alternative is approved, the project will move into the design phase, which is expected to begin as early as 2018. Construction could begin in 2021 and is expected to take approximately four years. Find out more about the project and sign up for email alerts here.