TRAFFIC ALERT: Southbound SR-71 Closing Nightly For 2 Weeks

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — Starting the evening of Sept. 16, the southbound side of the Corona (71) Expressway will be shut down completely for overnight work — with weeknight closures continuing over a two-week span — as part of an interchange expansion project.

The shutdowns are slated to take place between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Monday to Thursday, and midnight to 6 a.m. Fridays, resulting in all three southbound Route 71 lanes being taken out of service from Butterfield Ranch Road in Chino Hills to the Riverside (91) Freeway in Corona, a nearly seven- mile stretch, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

"The closures are needed as part of RCTC's '71/91 Interchange Project' and will allow crews to safely begin building a portion of support structures for the new eastbound 91 to northbound 71 connector," the agency said in a statement.

The weeknight closures will run from Monday, Sept. 16, to Friday, Oct. 4.

Periodic lane closures on the eastbound and westbound Riverside (91) Freeway additionally will be required during the work.

Officials 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 during the weeknight shutdowns 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.

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.

Roughly 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 make up the difference.

Updates on the project are available at rctc.org/7191closures.

—City News Service