The I-5 HOV Improvement Project recognized by regional civil engineers
ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority has earned the award for Construction Project of the Year for the Interstate 5 HOV Improvement Project between Avenida Pico and Avenida Vista Hermosa.
The $230 million improvement project, which added 6 miles of carpool lanes in each direction to the I-5 freeway, was selected among projects from seven branches in the Southern California region for its unique technical achievements, complexity and engineering features.
The award is given by the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Officials presented the award at their annual Installation of Officers and Awards Brunch on Oct. 5 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach.
The project, completed in 2018, added carpool lanes in each direction between Avenida Pico in San Clemente and San Juan Creek Road in San Juan Capistrano, significantly easing traffic congestion in those areas. It also improved freeway on-ramps and off-ramps, and it reconstructed the Avenida Pico interchange for better access and traffic flow.
The improved section of the I-5 freeway is traveled daily by nearly 250,000 drivers, who have seen improved travel times through that 6-mile area, which had been a notorious traffic bottleneck during rush hours and on weekends when drivers traveled to and from San Diego County.
Additional improvements continue on the I-5 in south Orange County, including through the cities of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods and Laguna Niguel. Improvements are being funded using state and federal funds, and Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, also known as OC Go.
Photo attached: Orange County Transportation Authority officials receive the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2019 Project of the Year award for the Interstate 5 HOV Improvement Project on Oct. 5, 2019. From left to right: Charlie Guess, Jacobs Construction Management; Behrooz Pirzadeh, Caltrans Senior Resident Engineer; Hamid Torkamanha, OCTA Senior Project Manager; Daniel Cronquist, ASCE Los Angeles Section President. Photo courtesy of OCTA.
