State Route 71 (SR 71) is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the
U.S. state of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Serving
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
,
San Bernardino, and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
counties, it runs from
SR 91 in
Corona to the
Kellogg Interchange with
I-10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
and
SR 57 on the border of
Pomona
Pomona may refer to:
Places Argentina
* Pomona, Río Negro
Australia
* Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa
* Pomona, New South Wales, Australia
Belize
* Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District
Mexico ...
and
San Dimas. The segment from SR 91 to
SR 83 in
Chino Hills
The Chino Hills are a mountain range on the border of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, California, with a small portion in Riverside County. The Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and habitat in them.
Geography
The C ...
is called the Corona Freeway, formerly the Corona Expressway and before then the Temescal Freeway. SR 71 is designated as the Chino Valley Freeway between SR 83 and the Kellogg Interchange.
Route description
Beginning at its southern terminus,
SR 91 in Corona, SR 71 is an expressway for a half-mile when it intersects with Pomona Rincon Road. After this intersection, SR 71 becomes a freeway up to Rio Rancho Road before reverting to an expressway up to Mission Boulevard. (previously, it was an expressway until its northern terminus, but this segment was upgraded to a freeway in 2012.) The route becomes a short freeway for about a mile until it meets at the
Kellogg Interchange in
San Dimas, where it terminates at
I-10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
and
SR 57.
As of December 2016, all traffic signals were removed. Traffic entering and exiting the roads that lead into the nearby neighborhoods (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive) may no longer enter or exit northbound due to added barriers in the highway's median. However, until 2021, southbound traffic could use these streets. (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive can enter the highway via a
stop sign
A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before continuing past the sign. In many countries, the sign is a red oc ...
.) These streets have been completely closed to southbound access as of 2021. Just south of the Mission Boulevard exit, all aspects of the highway, such as its alignment, lane width, pavement, barriers, and access, 'upgrade' to freeway standards.
The section of the highway between Corona and Chino is notorious for thick winter fogs at dawn and dusk, resulting in many automobile collisions when drivers fail to slow down due to reduced visibility. Residents of
Los Serranos (now
Chino Hills
The Chino Hills are a mountain range on the border of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, California, with a small portion in Riverside County. The Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and habitat in them.
Geography
The C ...
) recall being awakened by sounds of crinkling bumpers, fenders, and headlights.
As this freeway/expressway serves as an important northwest-southeast corridor between the cities in the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys (eastern
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
) and the cities of western
Riverside County, it is heavily traveled. It is used as an alternative to SR 57 (the Orange Freeway) situated to the west and
I-15
I15 may refer to:
* Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America
* Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft
* I15 (band)
"Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...
(the Ontario Freeway) located to the east.
When the route runs through
Chino Hills
The Chino Hills are a mountain range on the border of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, California, with a small portion in Riverside County. The Chino Hills State Park preserves open space and habitat in them.
Geography
The C ...
and
Chino, there is a
high-occupancy vehicle lane available for use; however, this carpool lane ends when the route enters
Riverside County (to the south) and
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
(to the north). The route is a four-lane highway between SR 91 and Central Avenue (excluding HOV lanes), a six-lane highway (excluding HOV lanes) from Central Avenue to
SR 60, and again a four-lane highway from SR 60 to I-10/SR 57.
SR 71 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System
The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...
,
and is part of the
National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
.
SR 71 is eligible for the
State Scenic Highway System;
however, it is not designated as a scenic highway by Caltrans.
History
The original routing of SR 71, according to the 1934 listing, was from US 80 (now
I-8), in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
north to
US 66 (now
SR 66), near Claremont via
Lake Elsinore and
Temecula. When the portion between San Diego and Temecula was redesignated
US 395, SR 71 was rerouted to run from Pomona to Aguanga. In 1973, it was cut back to its present terminus in Corona, with the portion between Corona and Temecula becoming
I-15
I15 may refer to:
* Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America
* Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft
* I15 (band)
"Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...
and the portion between Temecula and Aguanga becoming
SR 79 and
SR 371. The early section of the Chino Valley Freeway was built in 1971 from the
Kellogg Interchange to
SR 60 (the Pomona Freeway). The section from SR 60 to
SR 91 (the Riverside Freeway) was completed in March 1998.
In September 2008, construction began on the Mission 71 Project in Pomona. A bridge was constructed to allow Mission Boulevard to pass over SR 71, which now has entrance and exit ramps to Mission. Also, the intersection with Ninth Street was closed. The freeway was extended south to the former intersection at Ninth Street, where it resumes expressway status to the intersection with Old Pomona Road. The construction project was completed in December 2011.
Future
The City of Pomona is currently working with Caltrans to convert the rest of SR 71 within its borders from its current status as a four-lane expressway to a full eight-lane freeway. This project is underway and is expected to be fully complete by 2027. Additionally, the
Riverside County Transportation Commission
The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) is the County Transportation Commission (a subdivision of the six-county Southern California Association of Governments metropolitan planning organization) for Riverside County, California, ...
plans to construct a two-lane flyover ramp between eastbound
SR 91 and northbound SR 71 to replace the current one-lane loop ramp.
Exit list
See also
*
References
External links
{{commonscat
Caltrans: Route 71 highway conditions
071
State Route 071
State Route 071
State Route 071
071
Geography of Pomona, California
Pomona Valley
Chino Hills, California
Corona, California
San Dimas, California
U.S. Route 395