All three segments of the I-5 South County Improvements Project are under construction from SR-73 to El Toro Road, where transportation planners expect volumes to grow 25 percent by 2045. To address this travel demand, OCTA and Caltrans are working together in the cities of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel on this $580 million freeway improvement project funded by OC Go, also known as Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.
Following are some major milestones and a look at plans for 2022.
Segment 1, SR-73 to Oso Pkwy:
The reconstruction of the Avery Parkway Interchange is nearly 60 percent complete. Work on the middle section of the bridge will continue through 2022.
Watch the video for a look at last year’s milestones.
Segment 2, Oso Pkwy. to Alicia Pkwy.
Just past 50 percent completion, segment 2 includes the Oso Parkway. and La Paz Road interchanges where last year multiple retaining walls were constructed and new lane paving began for northbound and southbound I-5.
Later this spring, crews anticipate the completion of the La Paz Road bridge. Traffic will then be shifted onto the new section of the bridge and work will begin in the middle. The new northbound off-ramp and loop on-ramp will open this year.
Check out 2021 highlights in this video.
Segment 3, Alicia Pkwy. to El Toro Rd.
Crews are on track to complete the first stage of widening the Los Alisos Boulevard bridge by this fall and the bridge is on track to open to traffic in late 2023.
At the Alicia Parkway interchange, eight new retaining walls are on their way up and later this year construction will begin on new lanes for the on- and off-ramps.
At the El Toro Road bridge, the redesigned northbound loop on-ramp and off-ramp are nearing completion and motorists will begin to use the new lanes this year.
Following the completion of the Alicia Creek bridge, the Alicia Creek Bikeway and Riding and Hiking Trail is due to open this summer for pedestrians and cyclists.
For more information about the project and to sign up for the construction newsletter, click here.