3-mile stretch of 5 Freeway will gain second car pool lane in each direction

A second carpool lane is coming to the 5 Freeway making two in each direction between the 55 and 57 freeways. The project will help speed up commutes and alleviate bottlenecks on 1-5 in Santa Ana, Orange and Tustin , said Orange County Transportation Authority spokeswoman Megan Abba. Traffic on the 3-mile stretch is expected to climb from 380,000 to more than 400,000 vehicles a day by 2035, Abba said. To make room for the added car pool lanes, the 5 Freeway car pool ramps on Main Street in Santa Ana will be demolished this summer. The ramps originally were established so drivers could seamlessly enter and exit the car pool lanes. In preparation for their removal, those ramps were expected to permanently close as early as this week. Main Street will remain open during construction. Concrete barriers between the car pool and regular lanes also will be eliminated for the additional carpoollanes. However, the freeway itself will not undergo widening. Consequently, soundwalls and land afreeway will not be affected, Abba said. Construction is slated for completion in early 2021.The 1-5 Central CountyIm provements Project, a joint effort by OCTA and Caltrans, is projected to cost $41.5 million. It will be paid for with federal funding and money from easure M, Orange County s half-cent sales tax for transportation upgrades. Already, nighttim elane closures are underway on the 5 Freeway and 57 Freeway connector, where installatio n of temporary concrete barriers will create work areas. In keeping with OCTA s modern approach, the carpool lanes will be striped for continuous access allowing drivers to movefreely between the car pool and regular lanes. In 2007, OCTA started switching to broken-line car pool lanes, deeming them safer. T here s no reason to rush across several lanes of traffic to enter the car pool lanes, OCTA says on its website. And there s no need to slow down to exit. Otherwise, the car poollanes will ople and free of charge. The freeway section will continue to have five regular lanes.