91 (riverside) freeway expansion

Unbridled residential growth in the Inland Empire coupled with neglect of transit options to the job-rich regions of Orange and Los Angeles Counties have helped make the Riverside Freeway one of the most congested freeways in the country. Topographic challenges transportation planners who want to widen the freeway through this pass. On the south side of the freeway, steep slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains soar skyward while on the north side, the Santa Ana River channel and Chino Hills limit options. With protected natural lands on both sides of the freeway, this stretch of highway also remains the only place where wildlife movement can occur between the large Santa Ana Mountains and the Puente-Chino Hills.

Quick Facts

• At the juncture of Riverside and Orange Counties, transportation agencies are building or planning six additional freeway lane (three in each direction). This could disrupt the functionality of the Coal Canyon Wildlife Undercrossing.
• Coal Canyon underpass not only provides connectivity for wildlife movement, but it also links recreational trails in four counties.
• Other proposals include flyovers connecting the 91 freeway to the north and south bound 71 freeway and a flyover connecting the 241 toll road to the 91 toll lanes.

Status

• RCTC has released a Draft EIR to construct two additional lanes in each direction from the 91 freeway to the I-15 and beyond. The Final EIR will be released in June 2012. For more information, visit http://www.sr91project.info/
• One mitigation measure will be protection (through agency acquisition) of Bee Canyon thereby providing an additional wildlife linkage between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Chino Hills.
• Caltrans has not only failed to re-vegetate the underpass nearly 10 years after it pledged to do so, it has also used the wildlife underpass as a staging area for construction equipment thereby disrupting wildlife movement.

Relationship to the Corridor
Coal Canyon remains the only place wildlife can move between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Puente-Chino Hills. When land on both sides of the freeway was added to Chino Hills State Park in 2000-2001, this became the first time in California history that land was saved because of its connectivity value. By setting aside this parkland, it also reduced congestion in this area. As parkland, no traffic would now be generated there, whereas a 1,550 unit housing project had been approved on the south side of the freeway and a discount mall had been proposed on the north side.

View a map of the 91 Freeway Projects.

Resource ValueS AT RISK
The connectivity value of Coal Canyon is well recognized by regulatory agencies:

• Includes Rare Habitats
  The property contains the threatened coastal sage scrub. It is estimated that only 15% of the once thriving plant community remains undisturbed.
  
  
• Contains Critical Habitat
  A number of rare and endangered species live in coastal scrub habitats including the endangered California gnatcatcher.
  
  
• Linkage Viability
  As the overpass is widened by six lanes (three in each direction), the slanting topography will reduce the view of the horizon needed for migrating wildlife.
  

Project History

• A Joint Major Investment Study between Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) identified numerous options most of which add capacity but do not relieve congestion. Suggestions have included:
  • Additional High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) toll lanes
  • A four lane freeway north of the 91 freeway but parallel to it (over State Park land
  • RCTC and OCTA are also looking at the feasibility of a tunnel under the Santa Ana Mountains
• Both agencies have generally settled on simply building more lanes rather than providing any incentives to stimulate job growth in the Inland Empire thereby reducing the need to commute to work in Orange County.
• In 2008, RCTC proposed an elevated High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane with access points to the HOT lanes placed directly over Coal Canyon. Our vigorous opposition has removed this proposal from consideration. (see proposal - image below).
• OCTA began constructing one lane in each direction in November 2009 to widen six miles of the eastbound 91 between the 241 and the 71.
• RCTC is in the process of finalizing the EIR in order to build two more lanes in each direction.
  

91 Freeway Double Decker Illustration (132 KB - PDF)


Riverside County Transportation Corridor Brochure (2 MB - PDF)