Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

When it comes to transportation, I have three critical priorities in Congress: 1) Improve the flow of traffic on the 91 freeway; 2) construct grade separations in Riverside County so that railroads do not bring car traffic to a standstill; and 3) complete the 241 toll road in Orange County.

Riverside-Orange County Corridor

The 91 freeway is far too congested. Over 250,000 automobiles use the 91 freeway daily to commute between Orange and Riverside Counties and the number of cars is expected to nearly double in the coming years. I have been working with the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to implement short-term and long-term solutions to improve traffic flow. In the short-term, RCTC and OCTA have built several auxiliary lanes and continue to improve specific chokepoints along the route, such as the SR-91 / SR-71 interchange.

In the long-term, we must build a new route that connects Riverside and Orange County. A recently completed study suggested one possible solution is to build a corridor connecting State Route 133 in Orange County and Interstate 15 at Cajalco Road in Riverside. I share many people's frustration by the number of studies required before construction can begin, but they are necessary to complete before any concrete can be poured. In 2005, I helped secure $15.8 million to further complete these corridor studies. I will continue to work to secure the funding for improvements along SR-91 and for a new corridor between the counties.

Grade Separation

Riverside County is part of a national shipping corridor that extends from the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports to the East Coast. Trains carrying goods through our communities have seriously impacted traffic in our area. Essentially, we are bearing the effects of a national rail system that does little to benefit our region directly. Redesigning intersections between roads and railroads with grade separations, which allows traffic to pass over or under the trains, helps alleviate traffic delays in the region. However, each grade separation costs an average of $27 million, depending on the complexity of each intersection. Riverside County needs more than $400 million to complete all of the grade separations in our area.

The Federal Government designates certain critical transportation routes as "Projects of National Significance" which then become eligible for additional federal funding. Congress recently designated such a project to build grade separations and railroad improvements from the shipping ports to California's eastern border, known as "Alameda Corridor East" (ACE). This designation helped secure $155 million, over 5 years, for ACE in southern California. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to get additional resources to build grade separations in Riverside County.

Completing the 241 Foothill South

The I-5 freeway through south Orange County is growing worse each year. Twenty years ago, the California legislature created the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) to build and operate a system of toll roads in Orange County, including a road to alleviate traffic on I-5. TCA raised money through bonds and uses current and future tolls to pay back those bonds. Once the bonds have been paid off, the roads become freeways, completely toll-free.

The Foothill toll road (State Route 241) currently runs from the 91 freeway, but ends awkwardly at Oso Parkway, feeding traffic onto surface streets to connect to I-5. The Foothill South extension, which has been planned since 1987, would connect the current SR-241 with I-5 just south of San Clemente. A locally preferred alternative has been chosen that traverses property owned by Camp Pendleton and leased to California.

I will continue to support this critical extension to complete the toll road system and alleviate traffic in south Orange County.

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