City of Corona says McKinley Street grade separation on track for late‑summer completion

McKinley Street’s long-running grade‑separation project in the City of Corona is on track for completion and full traffic opening in mid to late summer, city officials said at a public project update meeting.

The project team reported completed work on several major elements, including the Estelle Road intersection improvements, the Paseo Los Arcos (Loop Road) approaches just short of McKinley Street, and most State Route 91 ramp work. Officials said the remaining critical work is a planned connection to a 30‑inch transmission water line, which they expect to make within days. Alan Zheng, the city’s senior engineer, said, “we are projecting, completion of the project and traffic on the bridge by late summer of this year.”

Why it matters: the grade‑separation project replaces an at‑grade railroad crossing with a bridge and associated highway, drainage, retaining wall and utility work. The water transmission connection feeds about one‑third of the city, so the timing and execution of that tie‑in are essential to finishing underground work and moving into final paving and surface work.

Project progress and schedule The city’s presentation showed recent drone footage and photographs documenting progress. Alan Zheng and Josh Cosper, program manager for Mark Thomas (the city’s program management consultant), said most underground work is complete and crews are finishing retaining walls, final base paving and cleanup on the east side of McKinley. Cosper said the team is “within the next week or two” of making the critical waterline connection and that once that work is done the remaining tasks are above‑ground fill and paving.

Officials projected the Paseo Los Arcos loop connection from Sampson to McKinley would open in May. The team said only a handful of nighttime partial closures remain for final ramp and retaining‑wall work.

Traffic, detours and local access Sidewalks and informal bicycle access along McKinley from Magnolia to North Sampson remain closed during construction; city staff advised pedestrians and cyclists to use the Corona cruiser shuttle that stops near Magnolia and McKinley and runs roughly hourly. When the project is complete, officials said there will be class‑2 bike lanes and continuous sidewalk on the east side of McKinley.

The project team reviewed recommended detour routes for drivers traveling to and from areas west or east of McKinley, north and south of the railroad tracks, and described how I‑15, Magnolia Avenue, Sampson Avenue, Radio Road and Buchanan/Pierce streets can be used depending on origin and destination. Law enforcement will perform enforcement where people ignore detours or safety signage, officials said.

Utilities and incidents Project staff described two recent non‑contractor incidents in which commercial vehicles hit fire hydrants along the work zone; repairs were completed within a day and officials said the events briefly risked delaying the waterline connection. The team also discussed routine dust‑control measures and stockpile protections for the hotter months.

Transit and bus stop changes City staff said a bus stop north of Sampson that served the Los Arcos shopping center was removed as part of the project design because there was not room for a safe pad; the city’s bus program is separately studying feasible future stop locations.

Budget and funding Josh Cosper said the project is fully funded and that initial estimates near the start of construction were roughly $120–$130 million. He said the current estimate to close the project is between $135 million and $145 million and that a large share of the funding (the majority) comes from nonlocal sources and regional partners including the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) and the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC). Cosper said some funding sources are restricted to grade‑separation work.

Business outreach and public communications Joel Belding, director of the City of Corona Economic Development Department, said staff have reached 88 businesses in the project area through phone, email and in‑person outreach; 10 businesses have been featured in the city’s monthly newsletter. The city continues to offer free promotional opportunities, subsidized workforce training partnerships and a live “Work Corona” site to connect employers with local workers. Officials said they do not plan additional similar public update meetings but are beginning planning for a ribbon cutting later this summer.

What remains and next steps Officials listed the remaining tasks as the water transmission tie‑in, finishing retaining walls and final paving and surface course work (including a polyester overlay on the bridge deck and a rubberized asphalt surface course on roadways). Staff said the bridge will be cleaned and touched up at project completion and that pedestrian and safety lighting will be provided; decorative perimeter lighting was not planned at this time out of concern for nearby residences, though officials said the bridge design could accommodate decorative lighting later.

Questions from the public and where to get information During the Q&A, officials answered questions about nighttime closures, train horn use (BNSF horning will stop only after the bridge and traffic operation are fully complete and BNSF updates its operating procedures), and signal detection/synchronization (the city will use updated video detection and interconnect for coordinated signals). The project team advised residents to check the interactive project map and live lane‑closure posts at mckinleyupdates.com, to sign up for construction text alerts by texting McKinley to (844) 518‑1409, or to contact the project email mckinley.gs@coronaca.gov or the 24/7 hotline (805) 463‑2999.

The presentation noted this was the tenth public update since 2020; staff said they anticipate construction completion in mid to late summer and plan a ribbon‑cutting ceremony when the bridge opens to traffic.