SR 133 was constructed as a county road by the 1910s; the portion from I-405 to I-5 was upgraded to a freeway four decades later. The state canceled plans to extend the freeway segment south, and the southern part of the road remains an undivided highway. In 1998, most of the Eastern Transportation Corridor opened, and the connector between I-5 and SR 241 was designated as a toll extension of SR 133.
Route description
CA SR 133 south of Lake Forest Drive, from Serrano Ridge (unincorporated).
SR 133 begins at SR 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, as Broadway in Laguna Beach, a block from the Pacific Ocean. The name changes to Laguna Canyon Road as the highway leaves downtown Laguna Beach and enters Laguna Canyon, soon narrowing to one lane in each direction. After entering the canyon, which lies between Laguna Coast Wilderness Park (west side of SR 133) and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park (east side of SR 133), the first major intersection is with El Toro Road (CR S18). SR 133 widens to four lanes and becomes an expressway after its interchange with SR 73, the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road.[2]
As it continues through the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, SR 133 follows a four-lane alignment on the west side of the canyon, moved from the old two-lane road in the center of the canyon in late 2006. Laguna Canyon Road splits to the northwest where the canyon ends in Irvine. North of the park, the highway becomes the Laguna Freeway after crossing an at-grade intersection with Laguna Canyon Road, followed by an interchange at exit 8, I-405, the San Diego Freeway. SR 133 then continues as a freeway and serves Barranca Parkway and the I-5, the Santa Ana Freeway. After crossing I-5, SR 133 becomes part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor along the northwest side of Orange County Great Park (built on the site of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro), crossing an interchange with Irvine Boulevard at exit 12 before ending at SR 241.
The opening of the first—and only—piece of the Laguna Freeway was celebrated in Laguna Beach on October 1, 1952, connecting the north end of Laguna Canyon with a planned extension of the Santa Ana Freeway at a trumpet interchange and bypassing the old route on Sand Canyon Avenue. There were initially no other interchanges along the route.[2][13][14] The state decided not to build the remainder of the freeway in late 1975,[15] and in 1996 the portion south of SR 73 was removed from the Freeway and Expressway System.[16] Widening of the part north of SR 73 to a four-lane expressway was completed in late 2006, moving the road out of the canyon bottom and allowing better access to areas in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.[17]
A new SR 231 was added to the state highway system in 1988, connecting I-5 northwest of Irvine with SR 91,[18] and in 1991 the south end was shifted southeast to the north end of SR 133, with the old route becoming SR 261.[19] To prevent the route from changing numbers as it crossed I-5, the southern portion was renumbered SR 133 in 1996, with the remainder becoming an extended SR 241.[16] The Eastern Transportation Corridor, which includes SR 133 north of I-5, was completed on October 15, 1998, opening a new shortcut from Orange County to the northeast.[20]
Tolls
Southbound entrance to SR 133 at Irvine Blvd.
The tolled portion of SR 133 (from I-5 in the south to SR 241 in the north) employs a barrier toll system, where drivers are charged flat-rate tolls based on what particular toll booths they pass through. Since May 13, 2014, the road has been using an all-electronic, open road tolling system.[21] And on October 2, 2019, the license plate tolling program, under the brand name "ExpressAccount", was discontinued.[22] Drivers may still pay using the FasTrakelectronic toll collection system or via a one time payment online. Drivers must pay within 5 days after their trip on the toll road or they will be assessed a toll violation.[23]
Tolls are collected at the northbound exit and southbound entrance of Irvine Boulevard and at the Orange Grove Toll Plaza, which spans the on-and off-ramps to Northbound SR 241 (traffic to and from Southbound SR 241 instead, pay at the Tomato Springs Toll Plaza located on SR 241 immediately south of the SR 241 interchange). As of July 2022[update], the standard two-axle car toll for both the northbound offramp and southbound onramp of Irvine Boulevard is a flat rate of $2.12. The Orange Grove Toll Plaza instead uses a congestion pricing scheme based on the time of day for FasTrak users, while non-FasTrak drivers must pay the $3.50 maximum toll regardless of the day and time.[24]
Major intersections
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Orange County.
^ abcCalifornia Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original(XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
^"Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
^Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: Los Angeles, CA(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
^Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
^Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books), pp. 192-196
^California State Assembly. "An act...relating to highways". 1991–1992 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 775 p. 3483.
^Megan Garvey, Los Angeles Times, Latest Toll Road in O.C. Is Major Test for Concept, October 15, 1998
SR 1 in Laguna Beach
SR 241 Toll near Irvine
