RIVERSIDE COUNTY () — A massive backup on the westbound 91 Freeway in Corona caused by a construction project had commuters stuck in a 3-hour traffic nightmare Wednesday morning.
Nothing but a solid stream of headlights. From the pre-dawn hours through the peak of the morning rush, traffic was at a standstill on one of the Inland Empire’s busiest freeways.
The work was scheduled to take place Monday through Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., but video taken at about 6:30 a.m. showed crews still working on the freeway.
At one point, the gridlock extended up to 20 miles on the westbound 91 Freeway, causing the drive from Riverside to Anaheim to be about 4 hours at its peak.
Five of the freeway’s seven westbound lanes were closed for a Caltrans slab replacement project, including Fastrak lanes near Lincoln Avenue. Two lanes remained open during the construction.
Caltrans said other traffic incidents in the area also may have caused further delays.
All lanes reopened shortly after 8 a.m., according to Caltrans. Traffic was still being affected.
Caltrans District 8 spokesperson Robert Tsai acknowledged that the delays during the project caused significant congestion.
“Caltrans has paused scheduled work and revoked the approved closure while it reviews the operation with the contractor,” Tsai said. “Future work will require improved production planning and a ready contingency plan to ensure the roadway reopens on schedule.”
Kathy Armstrong, who helps run a manufacturing company in Corona, said the traffic delays affected employees trying to get to work.
“We had employees that said they were over an hour delayed,” Armstrong said. “It was very frustrating for them.”
Armstrong said her company’s 7 a.m. shift consists of about 45 workers and that more than half arrived late because of the traffic.
“I get an attendance report every morning and I was still at home and I looked at it and I’m like, that, let me get my glasses. This is not right. We’ve never had like 24 people late,” Armstrong said. “And then I heard it’s Caltrans and like, hmm, not cool.”
Traffic was flowing normally again later in the day after the construction-related backups cleared.
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