As part of the I-405 Improvement Project, crews shifted traffic to the first reconstructed half of the new Magnolia Street bridge on Monday, March 30.
The Magnolia Street bridge, which straddles the cities of Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Westminster, is being demolished and reconstructed in two stages, one half at a time, allowing it to remain open to traffic in both directions during construction.
It is one of 18 bridges to be built, widened or replaced as part of the I-405 Improvement Project, which will speed up travel times on I-405 between Costa Mesa and the Los Angeles County line, an area traveled by more than 370,000 vehicles a day.
The new portion of the Magnolia Street bridge will be is the first to open among the project’s two-stage bridges. The Slater Avenue bridge, which was fully demolished and reconstructed in one stage, was the first reconstructed bridge to open to traffic in August.
On March 24, OCTA held a virtual meeting with those who live near the Magnolia Street bridge to discuss upcoming changes and the Project in general. Participants were invited to the virtual gathering via a flyer and targeted social media posts, held online in compliance with Gov. Newsom’s order to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Approximately 50 people attended the virtual get-together and submitted more than 25 comments and questions.
Work on this portion of the Magnolia Street bridge began in December 2018, and the second portion of the bridge is expected to be demolished next month. Reconstruction of that section is expected to take approximately one year to complete.
The Magnolia Street bridge is being reconstructed to accommodate the widening of I-405. Improvements to the bridge also include increasing the total number of lanes from four to six and adding sidewalks and bike lanes in each direction. The $1.9 billion I-405 Improvement Project will add one regular lane in each direction between Euclid Street and I-605, and a second lane in each direction in the center of the freeway from SR-73 to I-605 that will combine with the existing carpool lanes to form the 405 Express Lanes.
Construction updates, including the latest closure and detour information, are available on the project’s interactive map at octa.net/405map or on the project’s mobile app. To download the free app, search for 405 Improvement in the App or Google Play stores. For more information about the I-405 Improvement Project, visit here.