Traffic detours slated for four months to allow ramp reconstruction and construction of additional lanes as part I-5 Gateway Project
ORANGE – As part of the I-5 Gateway Improvement project, the northbound Orangethorpe Avenue on-ramp to the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) will close for four months beginning at 11 p.m., Wednesday, July 22.
Detours will be clearly marked and motorists may get around the closure by traveling west on Orangethorpe Avenue, turning north on Western Avenue and then east on Auto Center Drive to the northbound I-5 Beach Boulevard on-ramp.
The closure is necessary to allow work on the new northbound lanes as well as construction on the northbound I-5 Auto Center Drive off-ramp.
The $325 million I-5 Gateway project is adding two lanes in each direction, reconstructing bridges and on- and off-ramps in a two-mile stretch between the Riverside Freeway (SR-91) and the county line. The project, which broke ground in 2006, is scheduled for completion in fall 2010.
When completed the I-5 Gateway project will help ease congestion on the stretch of freeway traveled by an average of 172,000 vehicles a day. Traffic is expected to grow to more than 300,000 average daily vehicles by 2020.
For more information regarding the project, visit www.octa.net/i5gateway or call the Transportation Helpline at (800) 724-0353.
