10 FREEWAY EXPRESS LANE FINE FULL

The county transportation agency now goes by the straightforward title of the San Bernardino County Transportation Agency and its acronym SBCTA.

While when functioning in campaign mode those politicians will use their status as a current or one-time board member of the transportation agency to convince voters they are responsible for creating important regional infrastructure and therefore merit reelection, they frequently exploit the general public’s ignorance of how local governments articulate with one another to avoid blame for action or decisions relating to regional transportation shortcomings by distancing themselves from the county transportation agency, and carrying on as if they are not involved with it and that its decisions were made outside their capacities as county or city officials. Those responsible for the decision to convert one-third of the I-10 Freeway into toll lanes are local politicians, consisting of mayors or city council members from San Bernardino County’s 24 cities and incorporated towns and the five members of the county board of supervisors, acting in concert as the county’s transportation agency. Thereafter, the second phase of the toll system will be initiated and is to go the county line at the far end of Yucaipa, where the I-10 moves into Riverside County.

10 FREEWAY EXPRESS LANE FINE FULL

Though the first phase of the I-10 Freeway toll road was previously slated to reach the I-15 Freeway in Rancho Cucamonga by 2023, officials now say that the work, including removing existing retainer and sound walls along the stretch in question, will not be completed in full until mid-2024. Other West End cities impacted by the project are Chino Hills and Chino, though the freeway does not actually traverse either of those municipalities. The cities at the extreme west end of the county through which the first phase of the freeway toll system is to be located are Montclair, Upland, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga. Unknown at this time is the degree to which San Bernardino County’s citizenry will seek to hold those responsible for saddling the region with a toll lane system to account politically. While it is true that many or most local elected officials know the nature of the lanes being constructed, virtually none of the common citizenry knows that in order for them to use the final product of the “improvement” under way, they will need to pay for it. That sentiment was mild, however, in comparison to the reaction members of the common citizenry express upon being informed that the construction work they are encountering on a daily basis is taking place to make way for toll lanes being added to the freeway.

Upon being told that the new lanes will not be in place until 2024, most expressed dismay at having to endure the current situation for another two years. The majority have said they are putting up with the hassle because they anticipate being patient will, in time and upon the completion of the project, make the freeway safer and more travelable, increasing the freeway’s current capacity by half again. Most acknowledged that they have found the construction along the freeway, involving lane closures and temporary narrowing of the entire thoroughfare, to be bothersome, indeed irritating, but generally reflect a stoic and understanding resignation at having to deal with a situation in which they have no choice. The Sentinel has spoken with a cross section of county residents who use the Interstate 10 Freeway on a constant basis, primarily in traveling to and from their place of employment. The work is extensive upon completion the existing four lanes in both directions will be increased by two more eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes, transforming the freeway in that span from a modern eight lane interstate to a 12-lane superhighway. For months on end commuters on the I-10 Freeway between Montclair and Ontario have dealt with the inconvenience and hazard of bridge augmentation and construction and the paradoxical narrowing of the freeway as efforts to widen it are ongoing.

10 freeway express lane fine