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When the 405 Express Lanes open up, some motorists will avoid the toll

June 30, 2023

Q. Hi Honk: Can you explain what the new rules will be for the 405 Freeway carpool lanes through Fountain Valley? I have a plug-in hybrid with HOV stickers. I am not sure how things are changing. Thanks!

– Carol Bobke, Mission Viejo

A. The new rules are tied to a $2.2 billion project, Carol, that is widening the 405 for 16 miles between the 73 and 605 freeways. It is scheduled for completion late this year.

When it opens, there will no longer be traditional carpool lanes.

Instead, in the middle of the conventional freeway will sit the 405 Express Lanes – a tollway – offering two lanes in each direction. Besides the endpoints, there will be a couple of places in between to enter and leave.

The toll may vary on the hour. A schedule of what the amounts will be is expected to be approved later this summer.

Some drivers will get to take the Express Lanes for free:

Vehicles with two occupants during non-peak hours.
Vehicles with at least three occupants.
Vehicles with license plates only assigned to veterans.
Vehicles properly using disabled-person license plates.
Motorcycles.

Now, Carol, those with the state’s Clean Air Vehicle stickers, like you have, will be able to take the 405 Express Lanes at a discount; the reduced percentage has not been approved yet. The Clean Air Stickers currently eligible are orange, blue, yellow and green.

“Everybody has to have a transponder, just like on the 91 Express Lanes,” said Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which will own and operate the 405 Express Lanes. “This (overall) policy (largely) mirrors the 91 Express Lanes.’”

There’s an exception or two, such as there is no discount for vehicles with only two occupants on the 91 Express Lanes.

To keep motorists updated, the transportation agency has trotted out a website just for the 405 Express Lanes: 405expresslanes.com.

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HONKIN’ REQUEST: Honk gets many great questions, but they tend to be from landlubbers, of which he is one. It is summertime! If you are curious about anything transportation related on the high seas, or in the Back Bay, drop him an email at [email protected]. Same goes with walking, biking, motorcycling, hang gliding, parachuting, etc. Like you, ol’ Honk is quite curious and likes to learn about life’s mysteries.

HONKIN’ FACT: If you want to drive to the epicenter of the Fourth of July, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, it will take you 2,709 miles if you start at the Santa Ana Civic Center. The trip will require 40 hours on the road – if you don’t hit traffic. Or, you can get to Knott’s Berry Farm’s Independence Hall with a 13.6-mile jaunt, perhaps in under 20 minutes. (Source: Google)

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

Orange County Register

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When the 405 Express Lanes open up, some motorists will avoid the toll

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