The 405 Express Lanes — which cover a 14-mile stretch between the county line in Seal Beach to Costa Mesa — are set to open Friday morning.
The goal with the express lanes, said Orange County Transportation Authority Chief Executive Officer Darrell Johnson, is to have commuters “travel the entire distance of 14 miles at 65 mph, which is the speed limit, at rush hour.” With the opening of the express lanes, Johnson expects commuters to save 15 minutes traveling during peak traffic hours.
Carpools of three or more and motorcyclists are always free (with some other exceptions, detailed below). But tolls are in place for most other commuters, depending on time and day. And everyone is required to have a transponder to enter the lanes.
The express lanes — two lanes in each direction — are part of a $2.16 billion improvement project that took around six years to complete. A regular lane was also added in each direction.
The project also resulted in safety improvements to the freeway.
“The entire freeway now is standard lane widths,” Johnson said. “The shoulders are standard. All of the on ramps and off ramps have been improved. Sound walls, landscaping is better.”
One of the busiest freeways in America
The 405 Freeway connects Los Angeles and Orange counties. Roughly 370,000 vehicles travel the corridor daily, passing through the cities of Seal Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley. The 405 Freeway also connects key Orange County landmarks, including John Wayne Airport, Costa Mesa Center for the Arts and Little Saigon.
“On the northerly end, which is really in that space, close to the Long Beach, L.A. County line, it approaches 400,000 cars a day,” Johnson said. “And to put that in a bit of context, those numbers, those volumes, make it one of the busiest, if not the busiest, freeway segment in America.”
Funding for the project
The project was mostly funded from the Measure M sales tax, which brought in $1.4 billion, he said.
“The state of California provided $90 million and the federal government provided $45 million,” Johnson said. “The remainder, which is $629 million as provided by something known as a TIFIA loan, it's a federally backed loan.”
The loan will be paid back over a 30-year period from the revenues generated by the toll road. Toll revenues will also be used to maintain the roadway, he said, from fixing potholes to making sure toll collection systems are in working order.
Some of the revenues will also go toward a contract with California Highway Patrol for toll enforcement and safety.
What you should know about costs
How to use the OC Toll Lanes
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- Vehicles with three or more people can go free at any time on the Express Lanes. Vehicles have to be equipped with a flex or switchable Fastrak transponder.
- Those with two passengers can travel for free during non-peak hours for the first 3.5 years the Express Lanes are operational. During peak hours, commuters have to pay a toll.
- The maximum toll rate commuters can expect to pay traveling during peak time (on a Friday between 3 to 5 p.m) on the Express Lanes is $9.95. The minimum toll rate is $2.45 during off peak times.
- Clean air vehicles, who provide information about their vehicle make when applying for a transponder, can avail of a 15% discount whenever they drive on the Express Lanes.
- Motorcyclists always ride for free, but have to have a transponder.
- Those who have a veterans plate or a disabled license plate can also travel for free on the Express Lanes.
“We will also be paying for what we call Freeway Service Patrol, which is a roving tow truck. So if people are stranded or have challenges, if there's an incident or accident in the facility, we will pay for that,” Johnson said.
Any remaining toll revenues, he said, will be earmarked for other projects within the transportation corridor — parallel streets and roads will all benefit.
“When those dollars are generated in Orange County, they will stay in Orange County,” Johnson said.
