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State Route 91 Corridor Improvement Project Receives Multimillion Dollar Invitation
 Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that RCTC has been invited to apply for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) loan to make improvements on SR‑91 in Riverside County.
The SR‑91 Corridor Improvement Project was one of five projects selected nationwide to submit a loan application for review by the Department of Transportation. If approved, the loan would serve as a catalyst to attract additional state and local funding to cover the total project cost of $1.3 billion.
The project will extend two SR‑91 tolled Express Lanes and construct one general purpose lane on an eight-mile segment from Orange County to I‑15 in Riverside County.
This invitation, combined with the $20 million TIGER TIFIA grant received in 2011, provides the final puzzle piece needed for the full funding of the project. RCTC will now be able to release the draft Request for Proposals for industry review. Next steps include completing the environmental document in the next few months and procurement of a design-build team, with a project start date sometime next year.
State Route 91 Corridor Improvement Project
At its April meeting, the Commission approved a toll facility agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the SR‑91 CIP. The agreement governs the 50-year operation and maintenance phase of the tolled express lanes within the SR‑91 corridor. The SR‑91 CIP will widen the SR‑91 through Corona, extend the existing 91 Express Lanes from the Orange County line to Interstate 15, improve five local interchanges, reconstruct a portion of the 15/91 interchange, and other regular and express lane improvements within the SR‑91 corridor. Due to the high priority of delivering these improvements, the SR‑91 CIP is being fast-tracked by advancing several work phases concurrently. These concurrent work phases include preliminary engineering, environmental permitting, right of way acquisition, utility planning, interagency agreements, and design-build (contractor procurement and planning for final design and construction). Additional project information is available at sr91project.info.
State Route 91 High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Underway
 Over the past few years, significant Measure A investments have been made to improve SR‑91 with the reconstruction of the 60/91/215 interchange in Downtown Riverside and the widening of the freeway from Adams Street to the Orange County line. The SR‑91 High Occupancy Vehicle (SR‑91 HOV) lane project is an additional improvement that broke ground last month. The SR‑91 HOV lane project will widen a six-mile segment between Adams Street and the 60/91/215 interchange. The addition of a carpool lane through the area will provide HOV continuity, improve traffic safety, and improve the level of service through Riverside. For additional project information, visit caltrans8.info or call Caltrans at (866) 383-4631.
Freeway Service Patrol — SR‑91 High Occupancy Lane Project
 The Commission approved up to $864,000 in state funding to cover costs for Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) services during construction of the SR‑91 HOV lane project. In addition to regularly patrolling designated freeway segments, FSP services are used to provide support for construction projects as a transportation mitigation strategy. The FSP is funded by Caltrans and RCTC in its role as the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies. The rush hour commute can be a challenge, even when there aren’t any accidents or closures. A stalled car on a freeway lane can snarl traffic for hours. Specially marked FSP tow trucks provide services along designated freeway segments to relieve freeway congestion and facilitate the rapid removal of disabled vehicles. In addition to providing traffic congestion relief and reducing accidents, the supplemental FSP service will also help improve the air quality in construction zones.
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