ORANGE – The stretch of Ortega Highway between Del Obispo Street and El Camino Real is set to reopen Wednesday morning, Dec. 10.
The segment is the last portion of Ortega to be reconfigured as part of the I-5/Ortega Highway Interchange Improvement Project. The segment’s opening will re-establish direct access from I-5 to San Juan Capistrano’s Historic Town Center.
The next major work on the project is the demolition of the north side of the Ortega Highway bridge, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, Dec. 12.
Weather permitting, the bridge is expected to close at 11 p.m., and the freeway will close in both directions at midnight. Both roads are anticipated to reopen at 6 a.m. Demolition work will continue on Saturday, Dec. 13, with road closures again set to begin at 11 p.m. and end at 6 a.m.
Motorists traveling north and south on I-5 will be diverted onto the Ortega Highway off-ramps and back onto I-5 via the Ortega Highway on-ramps. Motorists who want to drive into San Juan Capistrano from I-5 must use the Camino Capistrano or Junipero Serra Road exits.
If the demolition is not completed Dec. 12 and 13, work will continue on Dec. 19 and 20.
Demolition of the bridge will allow crews to move forward on completing the northbound loop on-ramp to I-5, which is expected to open by the end of January 2015.
The $86 million Ortega Interchange Improvement Project includes widening the Ortega Highway overcrossing, reconstruction of on- and off-ramps and reconfiguration of the Ortega Highway/Del Obispo Street intersection to help relieve traffic for regional commuters and local drivers. The State Transportation Improvement Project and Corridor Mobility Improvement Act provided the major funding for this project, supplemented with additional local and county funds.
For more information, please visit www.octa.net/ortega.
