Drivers have started to see construction activity ramping up on the San Diego Freeway (I-5) in South Orange County as crews began work on a $249-million traffic-relief project last week.
The I-5 South County Improvement Project will add a carpool lane in both directions between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente as well as rebuild the Avenida Pico interchange in San Clemente.
The project will take three years from its start at San Juan Creek Road to its completion at Avenida Pico. The improvements are funded by Measure M, the half-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in 2006, as well as state and local funds.
The goal of the project is to improve the weekend traffic jams and regular rush-hour bottlenecks that plague the southern edge of Orange County, which has no other freeway. The project will alleviate the back-ups by ensuring a continuous number of lanes – four general purpose and one carpool – in each direction, eliminating the need for vehicles to merge.
At Avenida Pico, the freeway will be widened from four lanes in each direction to five, and Avenida Pico beneath the freeway will be widened from five lanes to nine. The northbound on-ramp also will be widened from two lanes to three.
The project also will create bicycle lanes beneath the freeway along Pico – a key safety addition with San Clemente High School and other campuses in the area.
