Q: Greetings Honk: I am suspicious this new lane will actually be a tolled lane. Do you have any information?
– Andy O’Connor, Lake Forest
A: Andy kindly sent Honk a website link to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s project he is curious about, a $716 million effort on the 5 Freeway, between the 405 and 55.
A regular lane will be added in each direction, new merging lanes are also coming, and some ramps will be reconfigured. Major construction will begin in the next month or so, with the project slated for completion in 2030.
Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesman, said those will not be toll lanes.
“There are no specific plans on any (express lanes) project at this point,” he said regarding his agency. “(But) long term … we do envision express lanes throughout the county.”
Caltrans, however, does have a 76-page report eyeballing express lanes, to help decongest the 5 Freeway from Red Hill Avenue in Tustin to just north of the Los Angeles County border, 15.5 miles away. This possibility has been discussed earnestly since at least 2022.
The tolled lanes, in each direction but perhaps not for the entire length, could be a combination of taking over carpool lanes and adding new lanes. The final environmental report has not been completed.
“At this time, no final decisions have been made,” said Robert Johnson, a Caltrans spokesman for Orange County.
Q: I remember while growing up my dad carried a box of emergency road flares in his cars. They were still in the 1969 Buick station wagon when I drove it in high school and college in the late ’70s to early ’80s. Does anyone still use them? You sure can see them well at night.
– Brett Franklin, Santa Ana
A: Honk remembers them well, too, Brett — we are apparently showing our age.
The California Highway Patrol itself is partial to flares, but they don’t seem to otherwise pop up much out there in the asphalt jungle.
“We do use them,” said Officer Fernando Perez, a CHP spokesman out of the Santa Ana station. “We utilize the heck out of them.”
But when it comes to the public, there appears to be a clear winner among the type of roadside warning devices deployed.
“I see a lot of the collapsible reflector triangles,” Perez said. “The flares are obviously brighter; they do come with some danger.”
The good officer wanted to pass along a couple of tips: If you do carry flares, check on them now and then to ensure they are not leaking.
And make sure the caps stay on them. Otherwise, they can rub another surface, such as another flare — and ignite.
HONKIN’ FACT: A 1998 Prevost LeMirage tour bus, Whoopi Goldberg‘s, is on the block. She used it extensively to get to her gigs until December 2024, preferring to sleep on it rather than in a hotel; it has 1.2 million miles on the odometer. Barbra Streisand and Tyler Perry are among those who have visited her on the bus. It is up for auction with other Whoopi stuff with Gardena-based Julien’s and is expected to go for $150,000 to $250,000.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk