State Route 241 (SR 241) is a state highway in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

that is a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

for its entire length. Its southern half from near Las Flores to near Irvine is the Foothill Transportation Corridor, while its northern half to SR 91 on the Anaheim–

Yorba Linda Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately Ordinal directions, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at th ...

border forms part of the

Eastern Transportation Corridor Eastern Toll Road or Eastern Turnpike may refer to the following toll roads: ;United States * The Eastern Transportation Corridor, the tollway system in California, comprising portions of: ** California State Route 133, State Route 133 ** Californi ...

system with SR 133 and SR 261. SR 241 is one of the highest elevated highways in Orange County and provides scenic views of both the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside c ...

and the cites below, passing through 12 different cities and regions along its length. Legislatively, SR 241 is defined to run south to

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

San Onofre State Beach San Onofre State Beach (''San Onofre'', Spanish for " St. Onuphrius") is a state park in San Diego County, California. The beach is south of San Clemente on Interstate 5 at Basilone Road. The state park is leased to the state of California by ...

on the border with

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. A plan to construct this portion was opposed due to environmental concerns. The county maintains the toll-free Los Patrones Parkway that extends the right-of-way south to Rancho Mission Viejo, but local officials do not intend to hand over control of the parkway to the state.

Route description

SR 241 runs along two named tollways: its southern half is the Foothill Transportation Corridor, and its northern half is part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor. The toll road begins at its interchange with Oso Parkway near Las Flores, while the right-of-way continues south as Los Patrones Parkway. SR 241 then heads northward through

Rancho Santa Margarita :''This article refers to the San Luis Obispo County, California, land grant. For the city of Rancho Santa Margarita, see Rancho Santa Margarita, California'' Rancho Santa Margarita was a Mexican land grant in the Santa Lucia Mountains, in ...

and Trabuco Canyon near

O'Neill Regional Park O'Neil Regional Park is a major regional park and greenway in eastern Orange County, California, United States, located along Trabuco Creek and Live Oak Canyon. The park encompasses of canyon and riparian zone habitat, and includes campgrounds ...

. It then passes through the eastern areas of

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

and Lake Forest before paralleling the rugged foothills in Irvine. It then runs along the easternmost edge of Irvine, with scenic views on either side, before meeting the eastern terminus of SR 133. SR 241 continues north as part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor following this interchange. SR 241 then meets SR 261 and Santiago Canyon Road ( CR S18) near

Irvine Lake Irvine Lake is a reservoir in Orange County, California, United States. It is on Santiago Creek, located in Silverado, California, east of the city of Irvine and close to Irvine Regional Park. The reservoir is currently operated by the Serran ...

before turning northeastward towards its northern terminus at SR 91 on the Anaheim–

border near the Santa Ana River. SR 241 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 (comme ...

, as well as 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 ...

History

The toll road was constructed by the

Transportation Corridor Agencies Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California State Legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct, and operate Orange County's toll roads. TCA consists of two local government agencies: * The S ...

, also known as the TCA, and is owned by the state of California. Construction was financed with bonds, which are repaid with toll revenues. Taxpayers are not responsible for repaying any debt if toll revenues fall short.

Future

Proposed extension

SR 241 was planned to extend from its current southern terminus at Oso Parkway south to

at the

border near San Onofre. This southern extension, known as Foothill-South, was intended to be the final piece in Orange County's planned network of public toll roads.February 4, 2008 "Foothill South: Developments to date for proposed toll road extension," The Orange County Register
/ref> The extension would have provided an alternate route from SR 91 to I-5 for those traveling from

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

and through southeast Orange County, south to San Diego County. Proponents of the project included a coalition of chambers of commerce, who argued it would provide greater access for communities such as Foothill Ranch,

, Las Flores, Coto de Caza, Wagon Wheel and Rancho Mission Viejo.

(TCA) originally projected that traffic would increase 60 percent by 2025, and estimated that Foothill-South would alleviate traffic on I-5 by 2.6 to 8 percent. The proposed route was selected by a collaborative group that included the

, Environmental Protection Agency, Fish & Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and Caltrans. Initially, the plan would have placed the final of the roadway on Camp Pendleton Marine Base, as well as through a section of

, which is leased from the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. The Marine Corps reserved the right to grant easements for rights of way when the lease with the California Department of Parks and Recreation was signed in 1971. Eventually, spokespeople from Camp Pendleton would deny permission to build the road on the base but approved the road's construction through the portion of the base that hosts the state park. The TCA Board of Directors, local elected officials who represent the areas adjacent to the toll road routes, certified the project's Environmental Impact Report in 2006. Many conservationists, environmental groups, and some residents of

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...

opposed the extension to San Onofre State Beach. Former California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed two lawsuits in 2006, one on behalf of the Native American Heritage Commission. A third lawsuit was filed by a coalition of several groups, including Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation,

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...

.January 3, 2007 "Student protests 241 expansion," Orange County Register
/ref> It was later revealed that the TCA funded a study in support of removing the

California gnatcatcher The California gnatcatcher (''Polioptila californica'') is a small long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth. This species was recently split from the similar black-tailed gnatcatcher of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan ...

from the federal Endangered Species list, which would have made it easier to build the toll road extension. On February 6, 2008, the California Coastal Commission voted 8-2Feb 07, 2008 "Panel rejects toll road through San Onofre State Beach", LA Times
/ref> to reject the planned extension through San Onofre State Beach. The TCA appealed the Coastal Commission's decision to the

U.S. Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

.Oct. 29, 2008 "241 toll road extension proposal", Green OC (The Orange County Register)
On December 18, 2008, the Department of Commerce announced that it would uphold the California Coastal Commission's ruling that found the TCA's proposed extension inconsistent with the California Coastal Act. In a release issued by the Department of Commerce, the DOC noted that at least one reasonable alternative to the project existed, and that the project was not necessary in the interest of national security. In November 2016, the TCA reached a legal settlement ending the 15-year dispute with the more than a dozen environmental organizations and the State of California. The settlement guaranteed that any roadway would avoid the Donna O'Neill Land Conservatory, the San Onofre State Beach Park, and other environmentally sensitive areas. The environmental organizations have agreed not to sue the TCA over other potential alignments that connect the 241 Toll Road to the I-5 freeway as long as the alignments do not enter the "environmental avoidance area."

Los Patrones Parkway

Rancho Mission Viejo, which has publicly condemned all the proposed alignments of the SR 241 extensions, helped to fund the construction of a four-lane toll-free freeway known as Los Patrones Parkway. The road, maintained by Orange County, follows the exact alignment as the proposed Tesoro Extension of SR 241 between Oso Parkway and Cow Camp Road. Rancho Mission Viejo provided $85 million of the total estimated cost of $100 million to construct the road. Los Patrones Parkway also includes a new multi-purpose pathway on the west side of the highway between Oso Parkway and Chiquita Canyon Drive, two wildlife crossings under the road, wildlife fencing, and replanting of over 100 acres of vegetation. However, local environmental groups expressed concerns that the TCA may acquire Los Patrones Parkway in the future to extend SR 241 southward. CA-241 at Oso Parkway

On August 10, 2018, the Orange County Public Works began construction on a $30 million project to turn a section of Oso Parkway into a bridge to allow a direct connection between SR 241 and Los Patrones Parkway. The new interchange was completed in mid-January 2021. Los Patrones Parkway was built in two phases. Phase 1 of the road between Oso Parkway and Chiquita Canyon Drive opened on September 12, 2018. However, due to significant rainfall, the opening of Phase 2 of the road between Chiquita Canyon Drive and Cow Camp Road was delayed twice from the planned deadline of late-2018, and did not open until October 17, 2019. Meanwhile, the TCA continued to explore alternative options to extend the toll road through

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for " St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St ...

and

to I-5. After facing opposition, the TCA Board of Directors voted unanimously on March 12, 2020, to support a proposal to extend the county's toll-free Los Patrones Parkway south to Avenida La Pata near the San Clemente city limit. In 2021, state senator Patricia Bates introduced Senate Bill 760 to remove the segment between Oso Parkway and I-5 segment from SR 241's legal definition, which would permanently kill any plan to convert Los Patrones Parkway to a toll road or any other plan to extend SR 241.

Tolls

SR 241 employs a barrier toll system, where drivers are charged flat-rate tolls based on what particular toll booths they pass through. Since May 13, 2014, the road has been using an all-electronic,

open road tolling Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The ma ...

system. And on October 2, 2019, the license plate tolling program, under the brand name "ExpressAccount", was discontinued. Drivers may still pay using the

FasTrak FasTrak is the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used in the state of California in the United States. The system is used statewide on all of the toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes along the California Freeway an ...

electronic toll collection system or via a one time payment online. Drivers must pay within 5 days after their trip on the toll road or they will be assessed a toll violation. There are two mainline toll gantries: the Tomato Springs Mainline gantry just south of the SR 133 interchange, and the Windy Ridge Mainline gantry just south of the SR 91 interchange. , both gantries and the northbound exit and southbound entrance at Portola Parkway-North use a

congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tele ...

scheme based on the time of day for FasTrak users, while non-FasTrak drivers must pay the maximum toll ($4.40 at Windy Ridge, $4.20 at Tomato Springs, and $3.16 at Portola Parkway-North) regardless of the day and time. Tolls are also collected at a flat rate for all drivers at selected on-and off-ramps: the southbound exits and northbound entrances of Oso Pkwy ($2.59) and Antonio Parkway ($1.81); and the northbound exits and southbound entrances of Los Alisos Boulevard ($1.70), Portola Parkway-South ($1.81), and Alton Parkway ($2.69).

Exit list

Under the official exit list by Caltrans, mileage is measured from the unconstructed southern terminus at

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

near

Los Patrones Parkway exits

This exit list consists of the county-maintained Los Patrones Parkway that local officials do not intend to turn over to Caltrans or TCA for a possible extension of the SR 241 toll road. Thus, the state maintains no postmiles.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.thetollroads.com/, name=Transportation Corridor Agencies official website – includes toll information on SR 241 and the other Toll Roads of Orange County
California @ AARoads.com — State Route 241Caltrans: Route 241 highway conditions

Foothill-South

Foothill-South official project website241 Toll Road extension proposal — Green OC at The Orange County RegisterSave California’s Parks and Beaches — Save San OnforeRelieve Traffic local siteSave Trestles siteSave Trestles-Wild Heritage Planners

241 Year 241 ( CCXLI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gordianus and Pompeianus by the Romans (or, less frequently, year 9 ...

State Route 241

Santa Ana Mountains