Canyon Update; October 4th Caltrans tells us the concrete K-Rails are all gone from the shoulder.. we will verify ASAP!
November 26th 2021. After 15 months, MOST of the shoulders are open to ride again. Southbound is clear now all the way to the interchange with the 73 Toll Road and the Lake Forest/Moulton/El Toro detour has been removed. Northbound there are still a few long stretches of blocked shoulder where guard railwork continues.
If you have not ridden the ‘Canyon’ for a while, expect some surprises between Lake Forest and the 73 Toll Road.
LAST AUGUST (2020) Caltrans placed concrete K-Rails at 22 sections of the shoulder where they are installing guard rails... forcing cyclists to merge into the high speed #2 lane up to 10 times on the way to Laguna & 12 times coming back… There are still (April) 6 SB and 2 or 3 NB in the way.
They gently remind motorists to share the road with us in this Construction Alert:
They posted it with this “#CommuterAlert Friendly reminder to slow down & share the road! Ongoing construction between SR-133 and SR-73 along Class III Bike Route. #caltransoc #slowfortheconezone
Laguna Canyon Road is a State Highway 133 from the end of the freeway in Irvine to the City of Laguna Beach. It is signed and designated as a Class III BIKE ROUTE & has wide paved shoulders (NOT Class II BIKE LANES) between Lake Forest and the 73 Toll Road. Cyclists are allowed to ride in the lane but usually choose to use the shoulder for obvious reasons. Unlike a mandatory use Bike Lane, a shoulder is not legally required.
OCBC has been in communication with Caltrans to try to improve things - the 22 sections where K-Rail barriers have been placed completely block the shoulder. They were placed to protect workers installing guard rails at the edge of the shoulder when working, but have put cyclists in great danger 24/7.
Use EXTREME CAUTION to merge out & share the travel lane around these 'pinch points'. Traffic on Laguna Canyon rarely obeys the posted high speed limit.
Caltrans has promised OCBC that they will remove each segment of K Rail as soon as work is completed at that spot rather than waiting until the last work is complete.
They also promised to push the K-Rail in a foot or two and wire an extension to use the signal button from SB 133 to EB Lake Forest, but that has not been done as of Mid-November. The project schedule puts these in place until WINTER 2021.
After that it will get worse when they work on the segment between the 73 Toll Road and El Toro Road.
At that time expect a full Closure & DETOUR onto EL Toro Road, Moulton and Lake Forest to get around the work zone.
Here is a better view of the current project area:
What the Caltrans alert asks, but does not convey - it is the responsibility of motorists to change lanes or slow down to pass us with a 3 foot minimum distance; If you have to go between Laguna and Irvine, expect these pinch points and use extreme caution or choose the longer way around the 'canyon' on El Toro Road (only adds 2.5 miles to avoid the 3.6 mile project zone).
SB Detour: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34389510
NB Detour: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34389593
OCBC has been constantly asking Caltrans what is taking so long to get this Class III bike route safely open… let Bill know if you see anything change ( for the better or worse!)
