Around 1.4 million trips are made a month on the 405 Freeway Express Lanes, which debuted more than a year ago as part of what transportation leaders have called the last major freeway project for Orange County.
The express lanes are paying off with faster travel speeds for not just those paying to use the lanes but throughout the corridor, Orange County Transportation Authority leaders said as part of an update delivered this week to the agency’s board.
The lanes, which generally require paying a toll or driving with multiple passengers to use for free, have seen steady growth in use for the 15 months they’ve been in operation — and steady growth in toll costs.
The 405 Express Lanes, in the middle of the San Diego Freeway, include ramps to The 73 Freeway, in Costa Mesa, CA, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The lanes opened over a year ago and have seen substantial use and toll costs, reaching $18 during peak periods. More than 1.4 million trips occur on the lanes each month, with the bulk of users coming from Long Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The 405 Express Lanes in the middle of the San Diego in Freeway Fountain Valley, CA, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The lanes opened over a year ago and have seen substantial use and toll costs, reaching $18 during peak periods. More than 1.4 million trips occur on the lanes each month, with the bulk of users coming from Long Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The 405 Express Lanes in the middle of the San Diego Freeway in Fountain Valley, CA, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The lanes opened over a year ago and have seen substantial use and toll costs, reaching $18 during peak periods. More than 1.4 million trips occur on the lanes each month, with the bulk of users coming from Long Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The 405 Express Lanes in the middle of the San Diego in Freeway Fountain Valley, CA, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The lanes opened over a year ago and have seen substantial use and toll costs, reaching $18 during peak periods. More than 1.4 million trips occur on the lanes each month, with the bulk of users coming from Long Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Show Caption1 of 4The 405 Express Lanes, in the middle of the San Diego Freeway, include ramps to The 73 Freeway, in Costa Mesa, CA, on Monday, March 10, 2025. The lanes opened over a year ago and have seen substantial use and toll costs, reaching $18 during peak periods. More than 1.4 million trips occur on the lanes each month, with the bulk of users coming from Long Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExpandThe 405 Freeway’s project to create the express lanes finished in December 2023, having cost $2.1 billion to complete the expansion. The project added two express lanes in each direction, and another general lane on each side of the freeway, from Costa Mesa to the northern county line.
Part of the massive project was also rebuilding many on- and off-ramps and 18 bridges that span the freeway. The express lanes took over the old high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lane meant for carpooling.
The express lanes are succeeding in helping drivers get through the 405 corridor faster, according to the recent presentation made to OCTA’s board. Travel times in the general lanes have improved by around 15% to 32% during peak commute hours, according to OCTA officials, comparing October 2017 traffic data to October 2024.
And compared to the old HOV lanes, the express lanes on average are 49% to 60% faster during peak commuter times. Federal law requires carpool lanes to maintain fast travel speeds, which is part of why the conversions to express lanes occur.
A recent analysis by the OCTA found that on the 87 miles of major thoroughfares that immediately surround the 405 Freeway, average speeds have increased by around 12% on weekdays.
Drivers choosing to use the express lanes save, on average, around 22 minutes traveling northbound during the evening commute and 16 minutes going southbound for their morning trips. Long Beach leads all cities with the most active accounts to use the lanes.
But to keep those faster speeds on the express lanes, the OCTA has had to raise toll rates.
When the express lanes debuted, the most a solo driver would pay was $9.95. Drivers can now pay more than $19 during peak hours when traveling the entire 16-mile stretch of the express lanes.
The rates are adjusted by the OCTA board regularly to keep the lanes traveling at highway speeds, giving drivers a chance to pay to bypass traffic when they need to, officials said. The latest increase went into effect in February.
The new lanes are also succeeding in bringing in more money than they cost to operate, officials said. From July to December, the lanes brought in a net income of $10.6 million, according to a staff report. That’s from $19 million in toll revenue and another $5 million in fees.
The lanes, on average, are bringing in around $3 million a month in toll revenue, peaking at just over $4 million in October.
The OCTA in December began formulating a plan for what to do with the 405’s excess toll revenue after expenses are deducted for operating and maintaining the lanes. That excess revenue won’t be available until at least 2029, according to a staff report.
Half of the excess revenue must go toward repaying a U.S. Department of Transportation loan.
The 405’s express lanes are modeled after the ones opened in 1995 on the 91 Freeway between Orange County and Riverside County. The 91 Express Lanes saw about 31% more trips compared to the 405 lanes in December.
Express lanes began in Orange County with the 91 Freeway, and the desire for transportation agencies to build more in Southern California is speeding up.
Caltrans is looking at adding express lanes to 15.5 miles of the 5 Freeway from Tustin to the northern county line. In Los Angeles County, transportation officials are looking to add express lanes on the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass, along with adding them to portions of the 105, 605 and 10 freeways.
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