OC Road Traffic Engineering-Road Programs
Traffic Engineering-Road Programs is responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient movement of persons and goods within unincorporated Orange County. This is accomplished through our Signal Operations and Traffic Investigations staff. Additionally, Traffic Engineering staff are responsible for project management and plan checking of County roadway projects.
Traffic Engineering-Road Programs is also responsible for developing and administering the transportation multi-year program and updating the annual Capital Improvement Program. This Section also County’s Special Districts, secures funds for road improvement projects through Measure M and other grant fund sources, and administers the County’s DBE/WBE program.
PROJECT ADMINISTRATION
Project Administration is responsible for project management and in coordination with Project Funding, helps to secure grant funds for the planning, design and construction of road and bridge projects within unincorporated Orange County. Grants are received from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), a local source, and through the State and Federal government. Project Administration staff actively pursues project development and initial planning activities with lead County groups including Road Design, Bridge Design and Operations & Maintenance. Staff coordinates with various governmental agencies, including various County departments, cities, OCTA and Caltrans, as well as private consulting firms to identify possible projects for design and inclusion within the multi-year transportation funding program.
This group also reviews encroachment permits, project reports, traffic control plans, signing and striping plans and street improvement plans prepared by a Developer’s engineer and various governmental agencies.
Project Administration establishes the Architect-Engineer (A-E) on call list for Road and Bridge project categories. OC Public Works uses A-E firms to supplement internal staff in order to implement road construction projects in a timely manner. Project Administration staff solicit Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) from A-E firms to provide on-call engineering and engineering support services for Road and Bridge project categories, on a not-to-exceed $200,000 and $300,000 basis, respectively. An updated slate of selected firms is established, on a recurring basis, approximately every two to three years.
Please Contact: 
Larry Abad
at  (714) 834-3061
for more information on the guidelines for the A-E on call program.
Proposition 42
Proposition 42 (Prop 42), the Transportation Congestion Improvement Act, passed by voters on March 5, 2002, provides funds for the maintenance of County roadways, and for implementation of drainage improvements associated with these roadways. On July 31, 2007, the Orange County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to allow the sharing of the County’s Prop 42 funds and approved City Aid Program (CAP). The CAP in the first year (FY 2008-09) shared $10 million of the County’s approximately $19 million annual allocation with Orange County cities. This cooperative approach to the use of scarce transportation dollars ensures that roadway maintenance occurs across the County, benefiting all Orange County highway users.
For more information on the County’s Prop 42 program please contact:
John Powers
or call (714) 834-3083
Road Fee Programs
A Road Fee Program provides roadway infrastructure within a specific area of benefit or geographic area. Fee Programs are prepare pursuant to California Government Code Section 66484.5 and Orange County Codified Ordinance Section 7-9-316 and was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on December 14, 1998 by Resolution No. 88-1682. The purpose of the fee program was to finance construction of roadway gaps, intersection improvements and traffic signals; all identified in the program.
The County of Orange created Road Fee Programs to fund the design and construction of Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH) facilities, within unincorporated Orange County and its cities. The area within which the fees are assessed is called the area of benefit for the fee program. Collected fees are used to fund transportation improvements consistent with the MPAH for that specific fee program and area of benefit.
The following are active Road Fee Programs: Foothill Circulation Phasing Plan (FCPP), El Toro Road Fee Program, Santiago Canyon Road Fee Program, Plano Trabuco Road Fee Program, Moulton Parkway/Laguna Niguel Road Fee Program, Coastal Area Road Improvements and Traffic Signal Fee Programs (CARITS).
For more information on the County’s Special Districts, please contact:
Please Contact:
Larry Abad
at (714) 834-3061
PROJECT FUNDING
Project Funding secures grant funds for the planning, design and construction of road and bridge projects within unincorporated Orange County. Grants are received from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) through Measure M, and through the State and Federal government. Project Funding staff actively monitor project development to ensure critical milestones are met and projects stay within budget. Staff extensively coordinates with various governmental agencies, including other divisions within the County of Orange, cities, OCTA and Caltrans, as well as private consulting firms. Project Funding staff also prepare cooperative agreements with other agencies for the implementation of capital projects. Staff identify possible projects for inclusion within the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), and assists Road Finance in preparing the road component of the County’s budget to ensure adequate funding for transportation-related projects is secured.
For more information on the County’s Project Funding, please contact:
Joe Sarmiento
or call (714)
834-4040
Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH)
The Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH) is a critical element of overall transportation planning in Orange County because it defines a countywide circulation system in response to existing and planned land uses. First adopted by the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1956, the MPAH has often been looked to as a model of coordinated planning, requiring the cities of Orange County to work cooperatively with the County in implementing a regional transportation system. Through a transfer agreement in 1995 with the County of Orange, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has assumed responsibility for the MPAH. As the administrator of the MPAH, OCTA is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the MPAH through its coordination with cities and the County.
The MPAH establishes a system of county-wide surface roadways and is a key factor in the definition of Orange County’s transportation policy. OCTA’s role as the administrator of the MPAH is to coordinate with the cities and the County of Orange to develop a consistent inter-community arterial highway system, to effectively serve existing and future land uses in the County.
The MPAH depicts a network of major thoroughfares comprising freeways, transportation corridors and five main arterial highway classifications; Principal, Major, Primary, Secondary and Collector. In addition, one other arterial highway sub-category (Smart Streets) is identified on the MPAH. This highway network plays a major role in regional travel by connecting to and complementing the State highway system and local street network. The Principal, Major and Primary arterial classification and Smart Streets predominately serve through travel. Secondary and Collector arterial highways function as collectors funneling traffic from local streets to Primary, Major and Principal Arterials. Streets that serve predominately as local collectors are generally not shown on the MPAH because they do not contribute to regional circulation. The overall network of thoroughfares is designed to accommodate existing and projected traffic. The MPAH classifications are a statement of policy intended to reserve adequate right-of-way for future highway improvements. The MPAH can be viewed on the OCTA web site at www.octa.net.
The County and cities’ Circulation Elements are reviewed for consistency every two (2) years to ensure compatible roadway networks that demonstrate adequate carrying capacity for the circulation system, and to detect possible inconsistencies resulting from General Plan amendments
To aid in establishing consistency among plans, all jurisdictions are encouraged to use common land use assumptions and travel demand projections. OCTA facilitates the use of these common assumptions through administration of the Orange County Transportation Analysis Model (OCTAM).
Measure M
One of the primary sources of grants funds for County road projects is Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Measure M grants. These funds became available through an Orange County voter-approved twenty-year ½ cent sales tax, enacted in 1990, to pay for transportation improvements throughout Orange County. This twenty-year sales tax was extended for another thirty years, November 2006, through voter approval of “Renewed” Measure M. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) administers these transportation funds.
To simplify the administrative burden, OCTA has combined the Measure M grants most used by the County and cities into one programming process called the Combined Transportation Funding Program (CTFP). The CTFP program includes: Smart Street, Regional Interchange Program (RIP), Intersection Improvement Program (IIP), Transportation Demand Management Program (TDM), Master Plan of Arterial Highways Program (MPAH), Growth Management Area Program (GMA), Arterial Highway Rehabilitation Program (AHRP), Grade Separation Projects, and Grade Crossing Safety Enhancements.
The County has been very successful in supplementing its share of gas tax funds with Measure M CTFP grant funding, allowing the county to implement many of its roadway improvement projects sooner.
To obtain more information on OCTA’s Measure M and Renewed Measure M programs, please visit OCTA’s website at: www.octa.net.
Proposition 1B
Prop. 1B, also passed by California voters in 2006, provides bond funds for road capital and maintenance projects. The County’s approximate $61.6 million allocation of Prop. 1B funds will be applied towards transportation improvements within Orange County as determined by the County’s Board of Supervisors.
For information on the County’s Prop. 1B program, please contact:
Joel Samonte
or call (714) 834-5440
ROAD FINANCE
Road Finance prepares the Road's annual budget to ensure adequate funding for transportation-related projects is secured, administers the transportation multi-year program and updates the annual Capital Improvement Program (CIP) with the assistance of Project Funding. Road Finance reviews proposed legislation in order to identify any road related impacts.
Please contact:
Debra Lakin
or call (714) 834-5440
Signal Operations
Signal Operations staff are responsible for the design, operation and maintenance of the traffic signal system within the unincorporated County as well as within contract cities. The County currently operates and maintains over 200 signal systems, approximately 60 of which are within the unincorporated County. The maintenance of these signals is performed by specialized County engineering technicians and by a private signal maintenance contractor. New traffic signals are designed by Traffic Engineering staff based on various warrants or are designed by private engineers, in conjunction with new development, and reviewed by Project Administration.
For more information, please contact:
Dan Richards
at (714) 834-4502.
TRAFFIC INVESTIGATIONS
Traffic Investigations ensures that the highways within unincorporated County of Orange are safe to travel under normal operating conditions. This occurs through response to investigation requests generated through County Operations and Maintenance staff and public citizen concerns, performing studies to address identified deficiencies and preparing improvement plans to mitigate or correct deficiencies. Traffic Investigations serves as the staff support to the Orange County Traffic Committee through conducting investigations and preparing staff reports to provide recommendations to the Committee as it considers issues of traffic safety within unincorporated County roadways.
Traffic Investigations also provides traffic engineering support to other County agencies and departments. That support includes preparing and reviewing striping and signing plans for Capital Improvement Projects, reviewing temporary traffic control plans for work within County roads, researching records and providing expert witness assistance in response to claims against the County and establishing and interpreting County traffic engineering policy. Traffic staff maintain various traffic engineering-related records including accident records, traffic volumes and speed surveys.
For more information, please contact:
Rick Diaz
at (714) 834-5069.
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