Community Corner
TRAFFIC ALERT: (Another) Partial Shutdown of 91 Freeway Planned This Weekend
The shutdown is necessary to remove remnants of the old Maple Street bridge, officials say.
CORONA, CA - The Riverside (91) Freeway will be partially shut down this weekend in Corona to allow crews to finish demolishing a bridge – one of several projects slated for the end of this month that will disrupt travel on the east-west artery.
The westbound 91 will be closed between Maple Street and Auto Center Drive beginning at 10:30 p.m. Saturday and will not re-open until noon Sunday.
According to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the shutdown is necessary to remove remnants of the old Maple Street bridge, which has since been replaced with another overcrossing.
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During the closure, westbound motorists will be detoured off the freeway at Maple and routed back to the 91 via Pomona Road. The eastbound 91 will not be closed.
The opening of the new Maple Street span is set for 4 a.m. Monday. Between Friday night and Monday morning, there will be no access to the 91 from Maple.
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Officials said the existing Lincoln Avenue on- and off-ramps at the 91 will be permanently closed at 9 p.m. Friday. Motorists will be able to use the new ramps at Second Street beginning 4 a.m. Monday. In the meantime, anyone attempting to reach the 91 via Lincoln will have to use alternate streets.
According to transportation officials, "lane shifts" are also planned on both sides of the 91 between 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday, as well as between 9:30 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 a.m. Monday.
Motorists using either side of the freeway during those periods will be squeezed into makeshift lanes close to the freeway shoulders, according to the RCTC. The shifts are needed to facilitate various modifications to exit ramps along the corridor.
Officials recommended finding alternate routes to avoid the overnight work on the 91 altogether this weekend.
All of the work is part of an effort to keep the $1.3 billion "91 Project Fast Forward" on track. Expanded freeway surfaces should be available for use in the first half of next year.
The 91 project got underway in early 2014 and involves widening the east- west corridor between the Orange County line and Interstate 15, with new traffic lanes and ramps, as well as additional shoulder space and expanded surface streets in the vicinity of the freeway.
– By City News Service / Image via Caltrans.
