The southbound side of the Corona (71) Expressway will be shut down Friday night and remain closed throughout the weekend while crews replace pavement and perform other work on their way to completing an interchange improvement project.
The shutdown is slated to begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue to 5 a.m. Monday, resulting in all three southbound Route 71 lanes being taken out of service from Butterfield Ranch Road in Chino Hills down to the Riverside (91) Freeway in Corona, a nearly seven-mile stretch, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission.
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"The full closure will allow crews to safely perform work as part of (the) `71/91 Interchange Project,"' RCTC said in a statement. "During the weekend, crews will be working around-the-clock to remove pavement, grade soil, pour concrete and stripe a portion of the newly aligned southbound 71 lanes. This work will allow for the shift of traffic onto the new lanes, creating additional space for the new connector."
The agency 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 this weekend will encounter a detour taking them off the artery and to the 60 freeway via Euclid Avenue in Chino Hills.
The 71/91 Interchange Project has been underway since February 2023.
Nightly lane closures on the 91 freeway have been occurring regularly due to the construction work.
The $137 million project 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 next 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 revenue, which is generated by a half-cent sales tax, is also covering a share of the expense, while federal and other sources are making up the difference.
Updates on the project are available at rctc.org/7191closures .
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