Chino presents Pine Avenue connector plan; Chino Hills authorizes letters of support

Chino officials on Tuesday outlined a revised plan for the Pine Avenue connector — a 1.3‑mile regional project to extend Pine Avenue from El Prado Road to State Route 71 — and urged coordination with Chino Hills as design moves forward. The Chino Hills City Council voted 5‑0 to authorize the city manager to issue letters of support for the project to facilitate grant applications with regional partners.

The City of Chino’s public works director and deputy director said the project has been in the planning books for roughly 15–20 years and that the design approach has pivoted from a large earth‑fill embankment to a raised bridge structure. Albert Espinosa, deputy public works director and city engineer for Chino, said the change responds to environmental and constructability concerns and will reduce truck traffic associated with importing fill material.

The pivot also reflects rising cost estimates: the Pine connector is now preliminarily estimated at about $140 million for construction, up from about $50 million in earlier estimates. Espinosa said…