SR-91 Corridor Improvement Plan

Client Background

The SR-91 Corridor Improvement Plan, or better known as the SR-91 Toll Express Lanes, is owned by the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), Cofiroute, USA. As the only major east to west route between Orange County and Riverside County, the traffic demands placed on it far exceed its original design from the early 1960s. The traffic congestion on State Route 91 is among the top trouble spots in the nation in either direction, any day of the week. Almost 280,000 vehicles travel between Corona and Riverside each day, and that number is expected to grow by an additional 140,000 vehicles by 2035.

Project Overview

The SR-91 Corridor Improvement objective was to reduce delays, provide better access to public transport and offer drivers choices by implementing toll lanes as well as adding new regular lanes. Construction began in early 2014 and new lanes opened in 2017. This major thoroughfare was to remain open during construction and would be under continued heavy use as a key part of many people’s commute and traveling lives. It was critical to accomplish the improvement and achieve the goal of decreasing delays without creating new delays during the process.

Our Role

JOA Group assumed the role of project “quarterback”, filling the Project Management role for the multi-disciplinary team. Managing all aspects of the initiative included planning, cost development, scope development, proposal preparation, contract negotiations and contract negotiations. JOA Group developed two key documents to successfully and efficiently manage the project.

1. Schedule
The Schedule is an effective tool to plan, communicate, track and execute projects.

  • Developed a comprehensive P6
  • Detailed the design, procurement, deployment and testing activities of all team members.
  • The schedule was resource loaded by incorporating costs and manpower resources.
  • The schedule identified the interface requirements with the Design-Builder, his responsibilities and how they affect the SI.
  • Generated the following Schedule reports: Responsible Manager report, Activities Codes report, Dashboard report, Critical Path report, Longest Path report, Lags and Leads report, Design Submittals report, Procurement Schedule report, Payment Request Summary report, Total Cost Profile, and hour and cost loading profiles.

2. Interface Document
The Interface Document is the visualization tool that clearly communicates the scope of work and interface between the Design-Build and the Systems Integration.

  • Developed an interface document that visually depicted the work of both the SI and the DB and the interface required between the two entities.
  • The interface document includes work depicting the toll gantry, toll utility building, cameras and changeable message signs.
  • The toll gantry and the toll utility building were developed in a 3D model.

The success of this project gave Cofiroute the opportunity to negotiate a sole source contract with Riverside County Transportation Commission to start the SR 91 project in 2014. Having developed all of the estimated costs as a part of the process, JOA Group and team were able to use this as the basis for negotiations in winning the business.

Project Challenges

Project challenges included coordinating an international and multi-disciplinary team and the ongoing work with the design-builder. The Riverside County Transportation Commission issued two major contracts for this project that needed coordination and management – the Systems Integration contract, and the Design-Build contract. JOA Group assisted Cofiroute with the success in providing the required initial deliverables to Riverside County Transportation Commission as part of the Systems Integrator Contract. The deliverables of a Quality Management Plan, Safety Plan and Baseline Schedule, allowed for minimal project delays and maximum efficiencies.