City of Corona says McKinley Street grade separation likely open by late summer; waterline connection is last major task

City of Corona officials told residents Thursday evening that crews are close to finishing the McKinley Street grade separation and expect to open the bridge and roadway to full traffic by late summer, but a 30-inch water transmission connection remains the last major, time-sensitive task.

The update, delivered in a virtual public meeting hosted by Matt Evans of the project outreach team, described completed elements including the Estelle Road intersection, most retaining walls, Paseo Los Arcos (Loop Road) just short of McKinley and the Sampson Avenue slip ramp. Alan Zheng, the city’s senior engineer, said the team is "projecting completion of the project and traffic on the bridge by late summer of this year." He and other staff emphasized the waterline tap — a 30-inch transmission line that feeds roughly one-third of the city — as the remaining critical operation.

Why it matters: the waterline tie-in requires precise planning and minimal downtime to avoid interrupting service to customers, and the project’s remaining nighttime closures and traffic switches will largely support that connection and final paving, lighting and cleanup. The city also repeated detour guidance and business support resources meant to reduce local impacts as construction finishes.

Project status and schedule City staff reported most major closures and underground work are complete. Program manager Josh Cosper said crews have finished major work "out of the ground" and that the remaining tasks are paving, wall coping, cleanup and the waterline connection; after the connection the work will shift to above-ground finishing tasks and final paving. Cosper described the waterline tie as a "surgical" operation expected within a week or two of the meeting and reiterated a mid-to-late summer target for project closeout and a planned ribbon-cutting ceremony around that time.

Traffic, detours and neighborhood access Officials cautioned that sidewalks and casual bicycle access near the eastern half of the project remain closed while equipment and staging limit safe pedestrian routes. The city recommended continued use of the Corona Cruiser shuttle (hourly stops from about 6:53 a.m. to 6:17 p.m. as posted by the city) and posted detour maps on mckinleyupdates.com. Staff outlined primary detours: west-of-project travel south of the railroad via Magnolia to Sixth Street or I-15, and north-of-railroad travel via Radio Road and Sampson Avenue. They also noted law enforcement will enforce closures and unsafe driving through construction zones; one recent incident involved a large truck clipping a fire hydrant, temporarily risking the planned waterline work.

Safety, signals and finishing work Staff said pedestrian and vehicular lighting will be installed for safety but no decorative perimeter lighting is planned so as not to disturb nearby residents; the bridge was designed to allow decorative lighting to be added later if desired. Signal improvements and video detection will be installed and interconnected with the city traffic operations to improve coordination once construction is complete. Final surface courses, grinding and overlays typical for roads and bridges will be placed at the end of construction to provide a smooth driving surface and reduce future noise.

Transit and local businesses The city confirmed a bus stop north of Sampson in front of Los Arcos Shopping Center was removed as part of project design and that transit planners are separately studying potential future locations. Joel Belding, director in the city’s economic development department, said the department has contacted 88 businesses in the project area by phone, email or in person and has spotlighted 10 businesses in the city newsletter; the city also offers free promotion, subsidized workforce training partnerships and a business-support intake for tailored assistance.

Budget and funding Cosper said the project is fully funded and reminded listeners that much of the funding is restricted to grade separation work; he described earlier expectations of "somewhere around $120 million to $130 million" during planning and later stated a current close-out estimate range verbally in the meeting. The team credited nonlocal funding partners — including WRCOG and RCTC — for covering much of the program cost.

Open questions and next steps Staff confirmed a projected May opening for the Paseo Los Arcos loop connection to Sampson, said only periodic nighttime closures are expected going forward to finish field work and traffic switches, and urged residents to consult mckinleyupdates.com, the project hotline and a text-alert program (text McKinley to (844) 518-1409) for live lane-closure maps and updates. Officials said they plan no further general public update meetings and will shift outreach toward the anticipated ribbon-cutting and final notices.

Ending Project staff closed the meeting by reiterating contact points — a 24/7 hotline (805-463-2999), project email (mckinley.gs@coronaca.gov) and the interactive project site — and thanked attendees for joining the final scheduled project update meeting.