California State Route 73
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| State Route 73 |
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| (CS&HC Section 373) | |||||||||||||
| Length: | 15 mi[1] (24 km) | ||||||||||||
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| South end: |  I-5 in Laguna Hills |
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| Major junctions: |
 SR-133 near Laguna Beach SR-55 in Newport Beach |
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| North end: |  I-405 in Costa Mesa |
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| Major cities: | Newport Beach Costa Mesa San Juan Capistrano Laguna Niguel Irvine Laguna Hills |
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State Route 73 runs from Interstate 405 to Interstate 5 through the San Joaquin Hills in Orange County, California. From its northern terminus, the first three miles of the highway are named as the Corona Del Mar Freeway. The next 12 miles of the 15 mile highway are operated by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency where it becomes a toll road named as the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor made in November 1996. State Route 73 runs approximately parallel to the Pacific Coast Highway and the San Diego Freeway. Its north terminus is Interstate 405 in Costa Mesa, California near Fairview Avenue. It then proceeds through the San Joaquin Hills and reaches its southern terminus of Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano, California. There are no HOV lanes currently, but the medians have reserved spots for them if the need arises in the future for their construction.
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[edit] Control Cities
Northbound
Southbound
- Corona del Mar between Interstate 405 and Bristol Street
- San Diego between Bristol Street and Interstate 5
[edit] History
Most of State Route 73 is a limited-access toll highway designed to reduce congestion within Orange County on the Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1), Interstate 5, and Interstate 405 by providing a direct route through the San Joaquin Hills.
Many commonly mistake all of State Route 73 as a toll road. However, this misconception is untrue. From its northbound terminus heading southbound, the first three miles of State Route 73 have no tolls and make up the entire Corona Del Mar Freeway. State Route 73's previous alignment had the freeway portion end at MacArthur Boulevard, and the CA-73 designation ran along MacArthur south to meet Route 1 in Corona del Mar. Under the current alignment, heading southbound, State Route 73 becomes a designated toll road immediately after the Jamboree/MacArthur ramp and remains so until its southern terminus at I-5. Though the next ramp heading southbound (Bison Avenue) is part of the toll road, it is toll-free, as is the first ramp heading northbound from the southern terminus (Greenfield Avenue).
Design and construction of the highway cost a total of $800 million dollars. The design and construction was overseen by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agencies, or SJHTCA, an agency formed in 1986 for the express purpose of designing the tollway. In the end, State Route 73 included 10 interchanges, 68 bridges, 725 000 square feet (67,000 m²) of retaining walls, and 32 million cubic yards (24,000,000 m³) of excavation at completion. Construction was divided into four different sections, each with its own management system and quality control. A joint venture led by Kiewit Pacific Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, completed this project.
State Route 73's toll road was the first to be financed with tax-exempt bonds on a stand-alone basis including construction and environmental risk. Since its inception, FasTrak patrons riding the toll road could travel the entire distance without stopping or even slowing down as their tolls are collected electronically by overhead radios reading the transponder mounted on the vehicle.
[edit] Additional landmarks
Route 73 passes straight through Crystal Cove State Park and provides easy access to University of California, Irvine through the Bison Ave. exit. The freeway also runs along the South boundary of Orange County John Wayne Airport (IATA Airport Code SNA).
State Route 73, highlighted in red
[edit] Toll rates
The tolls on SR-73 begin only after the Bison Ave. exit in the Southward direction, and in the northward direction there is a toll in effect from Interstate 5 (the terminus) up until Bison Ave. Route 73 also takes advantage of the FasTrak system, offering commuters savings by providing a discounted toll at each exit. The following table lists the tolls at each of the tolled exits, both with and without FasTrak.
| Toll Booth | Toll (without FasTrak) | Toll (with FasTrak) |
|---|---|---|
| Bonita Canyon Drive Southbound Exit | $0.75 | $0.50 |
| Newport Coast Drive Southbound Exit | $1.50 | $1.25 |
| CATALINA VIEW TOLL PLAZA Price assumes 2-axle automobile. |
Peak: $4.75 Off-Peak: $4.00 Weekends: $3.75 |
Peak: $4.00 Off-Peak: $3.25 Weekends: $3.00 |
| El Toro/Laguna Canyon Road Northbound Exit | $1.75 | $1.50 |
| Aliso Creek Road Northbound Exit | $1.50 | $1.25 |
| La Paz Road/Moulton Parkway Northbound Exit | $1.25 | $1.00 |
[edit] Exit list
Mileposts[1] and exit numbers:[3]
| Location | Mile | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southbound traffic defaults onto I-5 South |
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| San Juan Capistrano | ORA 10.34 | Interstate 5 South - San Diego |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| Laguna Hills | ORA 11.76 | 2 | Greenfield Drive | |
| Laguna Niguel | ORA 13.40 | 3 | La Paz Road; Moulton Parkway | Tolled northbound exit |
| ORA 14.39 | 4 | Aliso Creek Road | Tolled northbound exit | |
| ORA 15.25 | 5 | Glenwood Drive; Pacific Park Drive | Currently only southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| Laguna Beach | ORA 16.25 ORA 16.75 |
6 | El Toro Road; State Route 133 - Laguna Canyon Road |
Tolled northbound exit |
| Catalina View Toll Plaza (toll in both directions) | ||||
| Irvine | ORA 21.53 | 11 | Newport Coast Drive | Tolled southbound exit |
| ORA 22.50 | 12 | Bonita Canyon Drive | Tolled southbound exit | |
| ORA 23.46 | 13 | Bison Avenue | ||
| End toll road, begin freeway | ||||
| Irvine | ORA 23.82 | 14 | MacArthur Blvd | Exit 14A Southbound; Served as the original route of SR-73 before the construction of the tollway |
| Newport Beach | ORA R24.67 | 14B | University Drive | Southbound exit, and northbound entrance (via MacArthur Blvd) |
| ORA 24.78 | 15 (SB) | Jamboree Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| ORA 25.45 | 15 (NB) | Birch Street; Bristol Street | Northbound exit only | |
| ORA 25.58 | 16 | Campus Drive; Irvine Ave | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| Costa Mesa | ORA R26.56 | 17A | State Route 55 north |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 17B | State Route 55 south |
Exit 17A southbound | ||
| ORA R27.28 | 17C | Bear Street | Exit 17B southbound | |
| ORA R27.76 | 18A | Interstate 405 North - Long Beach |
Northbound left exit and southbound entrance | |
| 18B | Fairview Road | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| Northbound traffic defaults onto I-405 North |
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[edit] State law
Legal Definition of Route 73: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 373
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Route 73 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.1 of the California State Highway Code. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
- ^ Transportation Corridor Agencies - Toll Rates. Retrieved on May 11, 2006.
- ^ Cal-NExUS Interchange Exit Numbering
