Misplaced Pages

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29-549: An "Indian trail" was present in the area that would become named Santa Ana Canyon. This trail was used by Benjamin Wilson, who used it to reach what he would name Big Bear Valley in 1845. The trail became known among fur trappers, hunters, and prospectors seeking to reach the valley. It was used widely during the gold rush in the San Bernardino Mountains , which began in the spring of 1860. This trail served as

58-476: A FasTrak transponder — a pocket-sized radio transmission device mounted to the inside of their vehicle's windshield. This electronic toll collection technology eliminates the need to stop and pay tolls at traditional tollbooths, thus ensuring the free flow of traffic on the 91 Express Lanes. The 91 Express Lanes was born from the need for congestion relief on the 91 Freeway when no public funds were available to solve this critical transportation problem. The concept

87-511: A full eight-lane freeway. This project is underway and is expected to be fully complete by 2027. Additionally, the Riverside County Transportation Commission is constructing a two-lane flyover ramp between eastbound SR 91 and northbound SR 71 to replace the current one-lane loop ramp. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964 , based on

116-585: A west-to-east alignment (including its original eastern segment that extended through Temecula and Anza ), and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines;

145-737: Is a 15-mile (24 km) state highway in the U.S. state of California . Serving Riverside , San Bernardino , and Los Angeles counties, it runs from SR 91 in Corona to the Kellogg Interchange with I-10 and SR 57 on the border of Pomona and San Dimas . The segment from SR 91 to SR 83 in Chino Hills is called the Corona Freeway , formerly the Corona Expressway and before then

174-523: Is a valley in San Bernardino County , California , United States. The valley, in the San Bernardino Mountains , includes Big Bear Lake , Big Bear City , Fawnskin , Holcomb Valley , Sugarloaf , Erwin Lake, Baldwin Lake , Bluff Lake and Lake Williams. The Spanish colonizers arrived to the valley in the eighteenth century and encountered people who they referred to as " Serranos " in

203-889: Is part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . SR 71 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System ; however, it is not designated as a scenic highway by Caltrans. The original routing of SR 71, according to the 1934 listing, was from US 80 (now I-8 ), in San Diego north to US 66 (now SR 66 ), near Claremont via Lake Elsinore and Temecula . The route between Claremont/Pomona and Lake Elsinore roughly followed

232-545: Is to entirely bypass the canyon by drilling through the Santa Ana Mountains to provide an east-west connection from SR 241 directly to Interstate 15 . Another possible option could be to extend Green River Road to connect to La Palma Avenue, though this likely will never happen. As seen on their official site , the 91 Express Lanes pass through the Santa Ana Canyon. Their goal was to relieve some of

261-997: The Pacific coast. Across SR 1 lies Santa Ana River County Beach, which shares a border with Huntington State Beach . It is the namesake of Santa Ana Canyon Road, which is a thoroughfare that parallels the Riverside Freeway (SR 91) from the Anaheim - Orange line to Gypsum Canyon Road in Yorba Linda . La Palma Avenue is a much longer arterial road than Santa Ana Canyon Road, stretching from Torrance to Yorba Linda uninterrupted. The arterial begins at Vermont Avenue in Torrance as Del Amo Boulevard and continues through Carson , Long Beach , Lakewood and Cerritos . At Coyote Creek , Del Amo Boulevard leaves Los Angeles County and enters Orange County as La Palma Avenue in

290-688: The Temescal Freeway . SR 71 is designated as the Chino Valley Freeway between SR 83 and the Kellogg Interchange. Beginning at its southern terminus, SR 91 in Corona, SR 71 is an expressway for a half-mile when it intersects with Pomona Rincon Road. After this intersection, SR 71 becomes a freeway up to Rio Rancho Road before reverting to an expressway up to Mission Boulevard. (Previously, it

319-476: The city of La Palma . The arterial continues through Buena Park , Anaheim and to Yorba Linda where La Palma terminates after its intersection with Gypsum Canyon Road. The Eastern Transportation Corridor (SR 241 toll road) itself ends at State Route 91 as well. As a result of the confluence of these three routes at State Route 91 in Santa Ana Canyon, there is often a bottleneck of eastbound traffic during evening rush hour that begins there and continues across

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348-543: The 91 Express Lanes to study its advanced systems and operations. The BNSF Railway 's Southern Transcon runs through the canyon. Passenger trains in service through the canyon are the Amtrak Southwest Chief as well as Metrolink 's 91/Perris Valley Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line . 33°51′25″N 117°49′06″W  /  33.85694°N 117.81833°W  / 33.85694; -117.81833 Big Bear Valley Big Bear Valley

377-782: The Chino Valley Freeway was built in 1971 from the Kellogg Interchange to SR 60 (the Pomona Freeway). The section from SR 60 to SR 91 (the Riverside Freeway) was completed in March 1998. In September 2008, construction began on the Mission 71 Project in Pomona. A bridge was constructed to allow Mission Boulevard to pass over SR 71, which now has entrance and exit ramps to Mission. Also,

406-644: The Mission Boulevard exit, all aspects of the highway, such as its alignment, lane width, pavement, barriers, and access, 'upgrade' to freeway standards. The section of the highway between Corona and Chino is notorious for thick winter fogs at dawn and dusk, resulting in many automobile collisions when drivers fail to slow down due to reduced visibility. Residents of Los Serranos (now Chino Hills ) recall being awakened by sounds of crinkling bumpers, fenders, and headlights. As this freeway/expressway serves as an important northwest-southeast corridor between

435-571: The cities in the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys (eastern Los Angeles County ) and the cities of western Riverside County , it is heavily traveled. It is used as an alternative to SR 57 (the Orange Freeway) situated to the west and I-15 (the Ontario Freeway) located to the east. When the route runs through Chino Hills and Chino , there is a high-occupancy vehicle lane available for use; however, this carpool lane ends when

464-415: The county line and into Corona . Worsening the bottleneck further is the southern terminus of Corona Expressway (SR 71) just beyond that. However, there are numerous projects in the planning stages that are aimed at alleviating traffic through the canyon and into Corona and Riverside. Among them are lane additions and interchange improvements, some of which will not be completed until 2030. One proposal

493-463: The destruction of 25 homes located in Anaheim Hills and Orange. The Santa Ana River bicycle path runs through the canyon. This recreational path was constructed on the bank of the river and abuts the length of Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim . The bike trail, as it is referred to by locals, roughly parallels SR 91 in certain areas, extending all the way to Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) on

522-475: The intersection with Ninth Street was closed. The freeway was extended south to the former intersection at Ninth Street, where it resumes expressway status to the intersection with Old Pomona Road. The construction project was completed in December 2011. The City of Pomona is currently working with Caltrans to convert the rest of SR 71 within its borders from its current status as a four-lane expressway to

551-417: The nearby neighborhoods (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive) may no longer enter or exit northbound due to added barriers in the highway's median. However, until 2021, southbound traffic could use these streets. (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive can enter the highway via a stop sign .) These streets have been completely closed to southbound access as of 2021. Just south of

580-506: The parallel I-15 northbound to SR 91 westbound connecting ramp, opened March 20, 2017. When the 91 Express Lanes opened in 1995 between SR 55 and Green River Road, the facility boasted several firsts — the first privately financed toll road in the U.S. in more than 50 years, the world's first fully automated toll facility, and the first application of value pricing in America. 91 Express Lanes customers pay tolls from pre-paid accounts, using

609-502: The path of the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. When the portion between San Diego and Temecula was redesignated US 395 , SR 71 was rerouted to run from Pomona to Aguanga. In 1973, it was cut back to its present terminus in Corona, with the portion between Corona and Temecula becoming I-15 and the portion between Temecula and Aguanga becoming SR 79 and SR 371 . The early section of

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638-572: The primary means of passage to the Big Bear area up until the Santa Ana flood of 1916, when most of it was destroyed. The Freeway Complex Fire of November 2008 raged through Santa Ana Canyon. It ultimately destroyed hundreds of homes in the area and forced multiple road and school closures. In addition, thousands of residents in the canyon were under mandatory evacuation orders at one point or another and could not reenter their neighborhoods. This

667-474: The route enters Riverside County (to the south) and Los Angeles County (to the north). The route is a four-lane highway between SR 91 and Central Avenue (excluding HOV lanes), a six-lane highway (excluding HOV lanes) from Central Avenue to SR 60 , and again a four-lane highway from SR 60 to I-10/SR 57. SR 71 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and

696-584: The traffic that SR 91 carries daily; previously, they ended at Green River Road, without continuing further into Corona. As of March 20, 2017, an 8-mile extension of the 91 Express Lanes was completed that terminates after passing I-15 when headed eastbound. The 91 Express Lanes is a four-lane, 18-mile toll road built in the median of the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91) between Interstate 15 (I-15) and California State Route 55 (SR 55). A connecting ramp from SR 91 eastbound to I-15 southbound, as well as

725-498: The valley. The Serranos had established a few permanent settlements in the mountains, and also lived in the area during the summer months of the year. They may have moved into the area some 3,000 years prior. This very biologically diverse area is also where an active bald eagle can be seen via webcam. This San Bernardino County, California –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . California State Route 71 State Route 71 ( SR 71 )

754-475: Was an expressway until its northern terminus, but this segment was upgraded to a freeway in 2012.) The route becomes a short freeway for about a mile until it meets at the Kellogg Interchange in San Dimas , where it terminates at I-10 and SR 57 . As of December 2016, all traffic signals were removed. Traffic entering and exiting the roads that lead into

783-511: Was designated the Canyon Fire. Canyon Fire 2 was driven by fast moving winds and low humidity. By noon on the day the fire began, it had burned 800 acres (1.3 sq mi). By 2:30, fueled by high winds and low humidity, it had burned 2,000 acres (3.1 sq mi) and was 0 percent contained. Canyon Fire 2 lead to the evacuation of 16,570 residents of Yorba Linda , Anaheim , Orange , North Tustin, Orange Park Acres and Tustin and

812-593: Was the largest wildfire in Santa Ana Canyon since 1969, when fewer people lived there, making the Freeway Complex Fire much more dangerous. On October 9, 2017, the Canyon Fire 2 broke out near the interchange for California State Route 91 and California State Route 241 on the border of the City of Anaheim . The Canyon Fire 2 was the second fire in the same area in a matter of weeks, the first fire

841-458: Was unique — the private sector would take the risk and the State would get congestion relief at no cost to taxpayers. On a wider scale, the 91 Express Lanes has contributed to major advances in the toll industry worldwide. The facility has been featured in the national and international media. Since the project opened in 1995, transportation officials from 21 U.S. states and 23 countries have visited

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