Southbound 71
CORONA (CNS) – Having begun on Monday evening and continuing for the next four weeks, nightly closures are planned on the southbound Corona (71) Expressway for construction, requiring motorists to take detours.
The weeknight shutdowns are slated to take place between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Monday to Thursday, and midnight to 6 a.m. Fridays, resulting in all three southbound state Route 71 lanes being taken out of service from Butterfield Ranch Road in Chino Hills to the Riverside (91) Freeway in Corona, a nearly seven-mile stretch, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission.
“The nighttime closures are needed as part of RCTC’s `71/91 Interchange Project’ and will allow construction crews to safely remove support structures from the recently constructed new sections of the connector,” according to an agency statement.
The weeknight closures are scheduled from March 3 to March 28.
Periodic lane closures on the eastbound and westbound Riverside (91) Freeway also may be required during the work.
Officials advised motorists who use the 71 to consider alternate routes, including the Pomona (60) Freeway, the Orange (57) Freeway and Interstate 15 to reach destinations normally accessible via the expressway.
Motorists traveling southbound on the expressway during the weeknight shutdowns will encounter a detour taking them off the artery and onto the 60 freeway via Euclid Avenue in Chino Hills.
The 71/91 Interchange Project has been underway since February 2023. The $137 million enterprise entails replacing the current single-lane connector from the eastbound 91 to the 71 with a two-lane connector loop, which will accommodate a larger number of vehicles.
Along with expanding the connector itself, the project further involves adding an eastbound auxiliary lane to the 91 and realigning the Green River Road on-ramp. The expressway, too, is being realigned to create space for the new connector.
The project is expected to conclude later this year.
More than one-third of project funding — $58.1 million — is being provided by the California Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017, which hiked gasoline taxes to pay for infrastructure and other projects. The county’s Measure A receipts, which is generated by a half-cent sales tax, are also covering a share of the expense, while federal and other sources make up the difference.
Updates on the project are available at rctc.org/7191closures.
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