Nightly closures for 71 Freeway as interchange construction continues
The 71 Freeway in Chino Hills will be closed for the 71/91 interchange construction project every weeknight this month.
The Riverside County Transportation Commission has been working on improving traffic in the area for the past two years. They're replacing the single-lane connector between the 71 and 91 Freeways with a double-lane "flyover" connector.
Starting this week, crews will be completely closing the 71 Freeway southbound from Butterfield Ranch in Chino Hills to the 91 Freeway, which will have lane reductions throughout March.
"Last year, crews placed support structures over the 71, and now that the sections of the new connector are constructed, it's now time to take down the support structures," spokesperson Ariel Alcon Tapia said.
Tapia added that 40 beams also need to be removed.
"We advise drivers to please plan ahead as much as they can," he added.
Inland Empire motorists hope the $137 million project will alleviate some of the traffic in the area.
"I hope it so. I'm keeping my fingers crossed," driver Perez Hawkins said. "I hope it does but I'm not sure because there's so many developments being built. It's just so many people for such a small freeway."
KCAL News Next Traffic
The KCAL News Next Traffic map will list the closures throughout Southern California to help motorists plan their drive around the closures.
