A nearly $29 million design-build contract for the SR-91 Eastbound Corridor Operations Project is headed to the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) for approval after a committee vote scheduled for Nov. 23.

The Western Riverside County Programs and Projects Committee will consider recommending that the full Commission award the contract to Myers & Sons Construction, LLC, according to the committee's meeting agenda. The contract totals up to $28,977,889, covering design and early construction work under a Progressive Design-Build model.

The project would add a three-mile, non-tolled lane on eastbound SR-91 between the State Route 241 connector and State Route 71 near Green River Road in Corona. That stretch is a bottleneck for Temecula-area drivers heading north through the I-15/SR-91 interchange during afternoon and evening commutes.

Beyond the new lane, the project includes widening two bridges, constructing retaining walls, rockfall mitigation, replacing overhead signs and building a new two-lane exit ramp at Green River Road, according to RCTC's project page.

The Myers & Sons contract is one piece of a larger package on the Nov. 23 agenda. The committee will also consider a $324,500 change order to Kapsch TrafficCom USA Inc. for design support and a contract amendment of up to $6,852,199 to Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. for project and construction management. A separate cooperative agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) would cover OCTA's estimated share of $102,280,943.

The full project carries an estimated price tag of $178 million for design and construction, funded through a mix of federal, state and local dollars plus toll revenues, according to an RCTC press release from July.

RCTC secured a $25 million federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for the project in July 2026. Rep. Ken Calvert, who advocated for the grant, said in a statement that the funding would help ease congestion and improve safety.

RCTC Chair Raymond Gregory said in the July press release that "with more than 300,000 vehicles traveling SR-91 between Riverside and Orange counties each day, continued investment in the corridor is needed to keep our communities moving."

RCTC's project page lists the status as pre-construction. Engineering and environmental studies were expected to wrap up by fall 2026, and construction could begin as early as 2028.

The Nov. 23 committee meeting is a recommendation step. The full RCTC Commission would need to vote separately to finalize the contracts. The committee meets at 1:30 p.m.