State Route 71 (SR 71) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Serving Riverside,

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

counties, it runs from SR 91 in

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

to the

Kellogg Interchange The Kellogg Interchange complex is a freeway interchange in Southern California, connecting the San Bernardino Freeway, San Bernardino (Interstate 10 in California, Interstate 10), Orange Freeway, Orange (California State Route 57, State ...

with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the originall ...

and SR 57 on the border of Pomona and San Dimas. The segment from SR 91 to SR 83 in Chino Hills is called the Corona Freeway, formerly the Corona Expressway and before then the Temescal Freeway. SR 71 is designated as the Chino Valley Freeway between SR 83 and the Kellogg Interchange.

Route description

Beginning at its southern terminus, SR 91 in Corona, SR 71 is an expressway for a half-mile when it intersects with Pomona Rincon Road. After this intersection, SR 71 becomes a freeway up to Rio Rancho Road before reverting to an expressway up to Mission Boulevard. (Previously, it was an expressway until its northern terminus, but this segment was upgraded to a freeway in 2012.) The route becomes a short freeway for about a mile until it meets at the

in San Dimas, where it terminates at

and SR 57. As of December 2016, all traffic signals were removed. Traffic entering and exiting the roads that lead into the nearby neighborhoods (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive) may no longer enter or exit northbound due to added barriers in the highway's median. However, until 2021, southbound traffic could use these streets. (North Ranch Road, Old Pomona Road, and Phillips Drive can enter the highway via a

stop sign A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...

.) These streets have been completely closed to southbound access as of 2021. Just south of the Mission Boulevard exit, all aspects of the highway, such as its alignment, lane width, pavement, barriers, and access, 'upgrade' to freeway standards. The section of the highway between Corona and Chino is notorious for thick winter fogs at dawn and dusk, resulting in many automobile collisions when drivers fail to slow down due to reduced visibility. Residents of

Los Serranos Serranos (; ), also known as Serranía (; ), is a Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' administrative subdivision in the Provinces of Spain, province of Valencia (province), Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the S ...

(now Chino Hills) recall being awakened by sounds of crinkling bumpers, fenders, and headlights. As this freeway/expressway serves as an important northwest-southeast corridor between the cities in the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys (eastern

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

) and the cities of western

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, it is heavily traveled. It is used as an alternative to SR 57 (the Orange Freeway) situated to the west and

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band), a band * , of the Imperial Japanese Navy * Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment ...

(the Ontario Freeway) located to the east. When the route runs through Chino Hills and Chino, there is a

high-occupancy vehicle lane A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...

available for use; however, this carpool lane ends when the route enters

(to the south) and

(to the north). The route is a four-lane highway between SR 91 and Central Avenue (excluding HOV lanes), a six-lane highway (excluding HOV lanes) from Central Avenue to SR 60, and again a four-lane highway from SR 60 to I-10/SR 57. SR 71 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both state highways and federal highways in California. It was defined by Article 2 (comme ...

, and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

. SR 71 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System; however, it is not designated as a scenic highway by Caltrans. CA 71 north of Corona

History

The original routing of SR 71, according to the 1934 listing, was from US 80 (now I-8), in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

north to US 66 (now SR 66), near Claremont via

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for t ...

and

Temecula Temecula (; , ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a tourist and ...

. The route between Claremont/Pomona and Lake Elsinore roughly followed the path of the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service in ...

stagecoach line. When the portion between San Diego and Temecula was redesignated US 395, SR 71 was rerouted to run from Pomona to Aguanga. In 1973, it was cut back to its present terminus in Corona, with the portion between Corona and Temecula becoming

and the portion between Temecula and Aguanga becoming SR 79 and SR 371. The early section of the Chino Valley Freeway was built in 1971 from the

to SR 60 (the Pomona Freeway). The section from SR 60 to SR 91 (the Riverside Freeway) was completed in March 1998. In September 2008, construction began on the Mission 71 Project in Pomona. A bridge was constructed to allow Mission Boulevard to pass over SR 71, which now has entrance and exit ramps to Mission. Also, the intersection with Ninth Street was closed. The freeway was extended south to the former intersection at Ninth Street, where it resumes expressway status to the intersection with Old Pomona Road. The construction project was completed in December 2011.

Future

The City of Pomona is currently working with Caltrans to convert the rest of SR 71 within its borders from its current status as a four-lane expressway to a full eight-lane freeway. This project is underway and is expected to be fully complete by 2027. Additionally, the

Riverside County Transportation Commission The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) is the County Transportation Commission for Riverside County, California, United States. It is an association of local governments in the county, with policy makers consisting of mayors, coun ...

is constructing a two-lane flyover ramp between eastbound SR 91 and northbound SR 71 to replace the current one-lane loop ramp.

Exit list

References

External links