The 2.5-mile stretch where the 57 and 60 freeways join — a highway nightmare rated the worst truck bottleneck in California — is recommended to receive $218 million from gasoline tax funds for widening and realignment, state and local officials announced Monday, Nov. 16.
The additional dollars, when combined with Measure M funds from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, completes funding for the $420 million project, enabling construction to start two years ahead of schedule.
“This is an enormous win for the region and for California — to be able to fully fund this project,” said Paul Hubler, director of government and community relations for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
No longer will the SGVCOG and LA Metro, the two agencies in charge of the project, have to wait until 2024. Instead, the state SB1 or gas-tax funding will arrive in 2022, according to state transportation officials.
The “57/60 Confluence Project” received the largest award out of 28 projects totaling $1.36 billion announced Monday by the California Transportation Commission as part of its “Trade Corridor Enhancement Program.” The commission is expected to approve the recommended project list at a two-day meeting Dec. 2-3.
“The highway capacity improvements will help unclog this grinding daily traffic bottleneck for truckers and commuters alike,” Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, who chairs the SGVCOG Construction Committee, said in a statement.
In a poorly designed stretch, the two freeways become one in Diamond Bar, along the border of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. About 350,000 motorists per day must weave across traffic lanes to connect to the 60 Freeway east or west or 57 Freeway north or south, including trucks carrying goods from the ports to the Inland Empire, the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County.
Lane drops and hazardous weaving result in a mix of commuters and trucks, making the 57/60 confluence the second-highest truck accident location in Southern California, with truck-related collisions 50% above the state average, according to data from the California Highway Patrol.
The 57/60 section also is ranked the worst truck bottleneck in the western United States by the American Transportation Research Institute. The nonprofit’s rating is based on slow speeds and high traffic volume, Hubler said.
The project would add westbound on-ramps to Grand Avenue in Diamond Bar and a westbound auxiliary lane onto the 60 Freeway. The Grand Avenue bridge would be demolished to accommodate the widened freeway interchange.
Improvements would reduce the need for drivers to weave across many lanes to get to where they are going, reducing accidents and congestion. Hubler said once completed, the afternoon peak speed would increase from 39 mph to 60 mph.
Other local projects slated for funding include:
• 605/91 freeway interchange improvements in Los Angeles County ($118 million)
• 55 Freeway improvements in Orange County ($115 million)
• 71/91 interchange connector in Riverside County ($58 million)
• 15 Freeway Express Lanes and auxiliary lanes in San Bernardino County ($118.7 million)
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