The Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans are seeking public input on a proposed truck climbing lane for northbound State Route 57 in Brea. The goal is to ease traffic and better handle regional freight.
A virtual public scoping meeting on the SR-57 Truck Climbing Lane Project is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, on Zoom. Residents, commuters and other stakeholders can drop in during the open-house-style session to review the project and preliminary alternatives, ask the project team questions and submit comments.
The meeting is part of a public scoping period that runs through Friday, Oct. 16. Comments received will become part of the public record, and the project team will consider them as it prepares the project’s environmental document.
The study covers northbound SR-57 from Lambert Road to the Orange County–Los Angeles County line. That stretch is hampered by steep, sustained grades, heavy truck traffic and a lane that ends near the Lambert Road off-ramp.
Planners are evaluating whether to extend the existing outside general-purpose lane as a truck-only climbing lane. Doing so would separate slow-moving trucks from other traffic, improve traffic flow and better accommodate goods movement.
Three alternatives are under study. The first is a no-build option that would leave the freeway as it is. The second would add a truck climbing lane from Lambert Road to just south of Tonner Canyon Road. The third would extend the lane from Lambert Road all the way to the county line.
The project is in its preliminary environmental and engineering phase. A draft environmental document is expected in early 2028, with a final document to follow in late 2028, though the schedule could change.
The virtual public scoping meeting will be held:
Wednesday, Sept. 30
5 to 7 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Meeting registration and additional information are available at octa.net/57TruckClimbing
Public comments will be accepted through Friday, Oct. 16 and may be submitted during the virtual meeting or by: Email: d12.truckclimbinglane57@dot.ca.gov
Mail
Caltrans District 12
Division of Environmental Analysis
ATTN: Kathleen Dove
1750 E. 4th Street, Suite 100
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Mailed comments must be postmarked by Oct. 16.
