201808.19
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There goes the first bridge! And now? FAQs answered about 405 overhaul

by in News

A bridge over the 405 Freeway came tumbling down early Sunday morning, Aug. 19.

Fortunately, its collapse was deliberate.

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Drivers travel north and south along the 405 about a half an hour before the bridge demolition got underway. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

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  • Construction trucks move into place as the 405 bridge demolition begins on Saturday night. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • A construction worker uses a hose to extinguish any flare ups during the demolition project. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • A construction worker is silhouetted as he begins to remove rebar on the McFadden bridge. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Cindy Guilliams, a mechanical engineer for Boeing, watches the demolition begin on Saturday night. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The demolishing of the part of the McFadden bridge than spans the 405 South begins. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Demolition begins on the McFadden bridge over the South 405. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Engineers and members of the I-405 Improvement Project watch the demolition from a distance. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Demolishing begins on the McFadden bridge on Saturday night. McFadden is the first of 17 bridges that will be widened over the next five years along the 405. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Trucks wait to be loaded with concrete and rebar during the demolition. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • A construction worker walks along the side of the freeway while demolition was taking place. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)
    McFadden is the first of 17 bridges that will be widened over the next five years along the 405. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday.
    McFadden is the first of 17 bridges that will be widened over the next five years along the 405. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday.
    McFadden is the first of 17 bridges that will be widened over the next five years along the 405. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Project managers survey the scene as the McFadden bridge is demolished. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • A construction worker uses his flashlight as he walks down an embankment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Trucks wait to be loaded with concrete and rebar during the demolition. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday.
    McFadden is the first of 17 bridges that will be widened over the next five years along the 405. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Rebar is removed after the McFadden bridge was demolished by heavy equipment. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Workers make a final check of the freeway before the 405 is reopened Sunday morning. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Workers make a final check of the freeway before the 405 is reopened at sunrise on Sunday morning. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Workers measure lanes before the freeway is opened back up on Sunday morning.
    The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • A worker makes a final check of the freeway before the 405 is reopened Sunday morning. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The last thing to be done before the freeway opened was to place the reflective dots on the freeway. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • The first cars to drive under the McFadden bridge Sunday morning raised dust and dirt as they headed southbound. The McFadden bridge over the 405 freeway was demolished starting on Saturday evening into the early morning hours of Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

  • Cars head under the partially demolished McFadden bridge shortly after it open at sunrise on Sunday. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Contributing Photographer)

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McFadden Avenue’s bridge – spanning Westminster and Huntington Beach – is the first of 18 that will be replaced over the next five years to jibe with a broadened freeway. Four others will stay in place, but undergo improvements.

Eventually, the 16-mile stretch of pavement between the 73 Freeway in Costa Mesa and the 605 in Long Beach will gain two lanes each way.

The $1.9 billion project will be funded by four sources; Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, will foot the bulk of the bill at about $1.1 billion. The federal government will chip in $45.6 million, and the state $89.7 million.

A low-interest, 35-year loan of $629 million will be paid off by revenue from pay-to-use lanes.

Following are some frequently asked questions, emailed to the newspaper and pondered on social media. Orange County Transportation Authority officials assisted with the answers.

Q. We keep hearing “two additional lanes” and “two express lanes.” Does this mean we won’t get another regular lane – just fee-based lanes?

A. Drivers indeed will gain another regular lane. Currently, this section of the 405 offers four regular lanes and a carpool lane. After the widening, there will be five regular lanes and two express lanes – for a total of seven lanes. The express lanes will be separated from regular traffic with tall thin cones. Drivers can enter and exit at eight access points.

Q. How will drivers be charged for the express lanes?

A. Express lane users can put a credit card on file with the OCTA. A transponder will be mailed to them, and accounts automatically charged for each use. The express lane fee will range from $10 at rush hour to 50 cents at nighttime.

Q. Will there still be a carpool lane?

A. The carpool lanes get folded into the fee-based express lanes. Vehicles carrying three or more people will be free. Cars with two people will pay during rush hour for the first three and a half year,  then will be required to pay at all times to use the express lanes, same as a single driver. Drivers who choose to carpool will need to buy a “switchable” transponder for $15 – which allows them to log the number of people in the vehicle.

Q. Isn’t this sort of an honors system? How will the carpool lanes be monitored?

A. Cars will pass under a mounted system that displays a colored light corresponding with the setting on the transponder. California Highway Patrol officers will keep a visual lookout to make sure the numbers match up.

Q. Why does the expansion include pay-to-use lanes, anyway?  Isn’t this double taxation?

A. No money from Measure M, the local sales tax, will go toward construction of the express lanes, OCTA officials said. Measure M will pay for the addition of a general-purpose lane in each direction.

OCTA argues that doing nothing is not an option. The agency estimates traffic on the already congested 405 will grow 35 percent by 2040.

Q. Once the loan is repaid, will the express lanes convert to regular lanes?

A. Probably not, which is why the OCTA calls them express lanes and not toll lanes. Any excess revenue will go toward more freeway improvements.

Q. What bridges are up next for demolition?

A. The second phase of McFadden’s demolition will continue between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. Once again, the surrounding area of the freeway will be closed.

Next up, by year’s end, is the Slater Avenue bridge in Fountain Valley. Unlike McFadden, which closed completely Aug. 7 for about a year, Slater will remain in use throughout.

Q. If the Los Angeles County side of the 405 is not widened as well, won’t that create a logjam at Seal Beach Boulevard?

A. The Los Angeles side has enough lanes to accommodate additional lanes on the Orange County side, officials said. That interchange is the nation’s most heavily traveled freeway.

Q. If I can’t afford to use the express lanes, what’s in this for me?

A. OCTA estimates that regular-lane users driving the entire stretch will halve their rush-hour journey to 30 minutes. So if all goes as planned, even those who choose not to pay for the express lanes will benefit from both the extra regular lane and the migration of other drivers to express lanes.

For more information, go to octa.net.