Time flies when you are having fun, but not when you are waiting for the end of the construction and traffic mess caused by the 57 Freeway/Lambert Road project.
It is hard for time to fly when it often takes you two signals to cross State College Boulevard at Lambert Road due to the endless stream of vehicles turning left onto Lambert to access the freeway.
According to Sheliah Fortenberry, Caltrans’ information officer, completion of the project is expected by the end of this year. The construction began in 2019, then the coronavirus pandemic shutdown came and the project was put on hold, plus other construction delays along the way.
At this time, there is some more bridgework to be completed, along with repaving the freeway ramps and Lambert Road in that area, plus their punch list items, said Fortenberry.
Michael Ho, Brea’s public works director, said the bridgework includes the digging up and lowering of Lambert Road beneath the bridge to accommodate the new higher height limits for trucks.
“It is going on right now,” said Ho, “Starting with the center median island and then the road itself.”
Of course, that means more lane closures during the street-lowering project.
When it is completed, however, we’ll have three lanes in each direction in that area of Lambert Road, plus three for the southbound on ramp and two for the northbound on ramp. Hopefully that will help move traffic along much faster than it is right now.
So what is it all costing? Ho said the original bid award was $47.5 million. Four years later, the project’s cost is $57 million to $58 million, said Fortenberry. Funding is coming from a variety of sources including federal, state, county and local dollars.
The plans for this project have been around since 2011, when a traffic study showed the need for improved circulation of the 57/Lambert interchange, including both northbound and southbound on ramps.
Liz Pharis, Brea’s public information officer, said the city partnered with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans to acquire grant funds, and was awarded approximately $75 million from state and federal sources. The city committed more than $12 million for the project from its local mitigation funds, and was awarded more than $12 million from OCTA Measure M2 funds, for property acquisition and construction. She added that approximately 88% of the project funding came from grants.
Remember when a car wash was just east of the Lambert Road off ramp? That area is now part of the huge cloverleaf to the northbound 57 Freeway.
So, by Dec. 31, will we no longer have to deal with freeway construction in Brea? Well, don’t get too comfy.
According to Pharis, the city is now working with Caltrans on improvements to Imperial Highway and the 57 Freeway southbound on ramp. That project was also noted in the 2011 traffic study. Pharis noted that the project is currently budgeted in the city’s 2024 Capital Improvement Program.
Someone coming into town before the freeway project is done is Santa Claus!
Santa visits at the Brea Mall start on Nov. 9. Seems early, but why wait? Check the mall’s website for reservations for Santa photos.
Santa is also looking forward to seeing kids and families on Birch Street in Brea Downtown. Santa will be there the first three weekends in December, then he has to head back to the North Pole. Glad he doesn’t have to take the freeway.
Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at daxoncomm@gmail.com.
