– Jeff Teal, Rossmoor

A. In California, toll roads and toll lanes all use the same transponder system. State lawmakers actually got something right, eh?

If you already have a transponder from another tollway, you are good to go on the 405. Your tab will come from where you first signed up for a transponder.

“It will just show up on your monthly statement … your home account, if you will,” said Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority.

If you need a transponder, you can register for one beginning in about two weeks or so at 405expresslanes.com.

There are two basic types.

The ones the size of a large bandage that go on front windshields in specific spots, such in the lower corners, are free. The switchable transponders – so the driver can tell the system one or more passengers are in the car or truck – cost $15.

On the 405 Express Lanes, which will stretch from the 605 Freeway to the 73, every vehicle must carry a transponder.

Even motorcycles, which will be free.

If a driver and two passengers are aboard, the ride is free, same for those motorists with one passenger during non-peak hours.

The toll is based on the day, the hour and the direction. When the 405 Express Lanes opens up on Dec. 1, the max toll will be $9.95. The minimum will be $2.45.

Rates, of course will be less if the driver ducks out before the end or enters midstream.

Overhead signs will show the toll. To see the rate schedule, go to the website, hit the “FAQs” tab at the top, then hit “When we will know toll schedules?” and tap on “Click here” and scroll down.

HONKIN’ UPDATE: The eastbound weigh station on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim Hills had more problems than Lucy Ricardo at the chocolate factory.

The westbound one closed in late 2018 and re-opened in June 2021. The eastbound side shuttered in February 2020 and, finally, has reopened.

Originally, it was to reopen in May 2021.

The weigh stations – also called the scales – try to keep too-heavy commercial trucks off of the highways so the roadways don’t get damaged. They also are home to random inspections, such as for brakes. Those particular weigh stations had aged worse than Honk, but unlike him could be demolished and rebuilt. Which they were.

Prompted by readers’ questions, Honk would call the California Highway Patrol, which staffs them, and Caltrans, which oversees the highway system, every now and then for updates on the troubled one.

The reason for the eastbound weigh station’s lagging ways, he was told, included: The company that was to make a sign guiding truckers in was hit by the pandemic, so another outfit was hired; the sign’s mounting turned out to be rusted; the sign ran into shipping problems; the state pushed aside the overall contractor and a new one was hired.

Last week, a trucker gave Honk a heads-up the eastbound wait – sorry, weigh – station had opened.

The California Highway Patrol moved in on Sept. 22 and opened up shop three days later, Sheilah Fortenberry, a Caltrans spokeswoman, confirmed to Honk.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Carl Cheng, Irvine

A. Carl, you are talking about what are called ramp meters, deployed to even out the flow of freeway traffic.

“It is still considered a moving violation,” said Sergio Rivera, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol out of the Santa Ana station house. “However, in courtrooms the judge doesn’t always penalize (offenders) the same way – they have some leeway.”

Rivera compared the violation to that of running a stop sign.

Honk, for one, wouldn’t want to take a chance – he would prefer doing many things over sitting in traffic school to keep his insurance bill from rising.

Truthfully, it is a difficult violation for officers to cite.

The ramps often don’t have enough room for a patrol car to safely sit and watch – and how could a driver possibly miss seeing a black-and-white there on the shoulder?

But on the back of a few ramp meters are other lights that turn on and off. Officers can sit down the roadway a bit and peer into their rearviews to spy any driver blowing through a red.

Honk loves the name of this nifty device: a tattletale light.

Q. The 5 Freeway in south Orange County has been undergoing construction since 2019 – more than four years now. Traffic attempting to enter and exit the freeway is completely disrupted at all hours. The on-ramps are nearly always backed up, and traffic is forced into two or sometimes one ramp lane. The original signs posted said, “Construction from 8-2019 to 9-2023.” Now we see a new completion date: 8-2024. So the original FOUR-YEAR completion time frame has now been pushed back ANOTHER year. In contrast: After the Northridge earthquake, the 10 Freeway’s bridges were rebuilt in a little over two months. Why does it take FIVE YEARS to complete this project? This entire situation is a FIASCO! (Thanks for letting me vent!)

– John Guth, Aliso Viejo

A. No problem on the venting, John – but, ah, well, the project is actually going to take perhaps six years.

The Orange County Transportation Authority is overseeing that $580 million freeway-widening project, which covers six and a half miles from El Toro Road on the Lake Forest-Laguna Hills border to the 73 Toll Road near the Laguna Niguel-Mission Viejo dividing line.

Two interchanges are being reconstructed, lanes will be added and the ramps all modified.

“When the project broke ground in 2019, it was announced that the project would be complete in 2025 and the project, which is nearly 80% complete, remains on track,” said Eric Carpenter, an OCTA spokesman.

Honk isn’t sure about the signs and their dates … maybe they were for particular ramps?

In 1994, the Northridge quake closed the 10 in spots by crumbling bridges at La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Los Angles-Culver City area, giving construction crews total access to the freeway there. For sure, those repair jobs were amazing fast, with state and federal officials cutting red tape and spending way more than it would otherwise take, in part because of contractor bonuses.

To Honk, six years does seem like an awfully long time. He asked Joel Zlotnik, another OCTA spokesman, about that.

“We have to balance the construction period with making sure the freeway is still operating and folks have access to the local community,” he said.

Officials never considered just shutting down the 5, which in that stretch handles 360,000 vehicles a weekday, to speed up construction.

“It’s important to note … we have worked with Caltrans and the cities involved to keep all pre-existing freeway lanes open during daytime and peak hours throughout construction, and, similarly, all off- and on-ramps have (mostly) remained opened,” Carpenter said.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Tom Anderson, Lake Forest

A. No, and so no again.

“A corpse or a vase of cremated remains does not qualify as a second passenger,” said Mitch Smith, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol out of its Westminster station house. “It’s the same thing as an unborn child, it’s not going to count.”

Smith offered up other unsuccessful attempts officers hear or see:

— The driver claims to have avoided a collision.

— “I was just using this lane to pass.”

— A Halloween mask attached to the passenger’s headrest. “That happens frequently,” Smith said.

Driving tip: If you are solo and take a carpool lane by accident, don’t cross the double-white or double-yellow lines to correct your mistake. Wait until there is a legal break to exit. Getting cited for driving solo in a carpool lane is not a moving violation – but crossing the double lines is and can affect your insurance or at least send you to traffic school.

Q. Honk: My wife and I are regular readers of your column. We have a question: Who is responsible in state government for the maintenance of highways, specifically the drainage openings along the center divider in Los Angeles? There are drainage slots every so many feet. The slots have been full of dirt topped off by grass. If we have major rain ahead, these drainage systems simply can’t do their job and keep giant puddles off of the freeway if clogged, which could result in accidents. Several years ago we witnessed a major six-car accident on one of these areas on the 91. Something has to be done!

– Stan and Kathy Gronos, Gardena

A. Thanks for reading, folks, and keeping bread on Honk’s table.

Sounds like a Caltrans matter. Officials with the state agency have told Honk over the years they appreciate the public pointing out potential problems to them.

You can do so by filling out a form at csr.dot.ca.gov.

Caltrans’ policy is to respond to you within 10 calendar days.

HONKIN’ FACT: There is a little-known practice among airline passengers call “skiplagging” or “hidden-city travel.” They book a flight with a stop in the city they really want to end up in to save a lot of money and hop off there and not at the final destination according to the ticket. But at least some airlines fight hard against the practice, leaning on the “contract” travelers agree to when buying a ticket, and sometimes the carriers even deploy penalties (Source: The New York Times).

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Mark Speros, San Juan Capistrano

A. Caltrans wanted truck-climbing lanes out there on steep slopes “to allow trucks and other slower vehicles to stay to the right of main traffic,” said Michele Miller, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which manages the 241, 73, 261 and 133 toll roads. These stretches met Caltrans’ criteria for such lanes.

In 2014, when those toll roads stopped collecting cash and went to all-electronic tolling, the toll plazas were reconfigured and the signs changed to direct trucks and cars with trailers through those areas to separate them for a bit from the rest of traffic to improve the flow. The climbing lanes had been there before, but were modified.

The 241 has climbing lanes in both directions at what is called the Windy Ridge Toll Point. On the 73, there is a similar setup at the Catalina View Toll Point.

The California Highway Patrol is to enforce the laws on these tollways, including ensuring that trucks and trailers take their special lanes.

“We do have details who work specifically on the 241,” said Sergio Rivera, a spokesman and officer for the California Highway Patrol.

But, he added, an officer needs to be out there during the violation, and might choose to go after a bigger problem instead – say an excessive speeder.

Now, as to whether there is enough time on the northbound 241 at the Windy Ridge Toll Point for truckers to get into a left lane, Miller said in an email:

“The roadway design allows for sufficient distance of over one mile to access the lanes that merge onto westbound 91. The Transportation Corridor Agencies … installed signage and pavement markings to provide advanced notice to motorists who want to access the westbound or eastbound lanes to the 91.”

Q. Hi Honk: Now that we are seeing gas prices spike and hear refinery problems are part of the problem, do you know why we don’t build more refineries in this country? Sure would alleviate a large part of the problem.

– Bob King, Huntington Beach

A. It seems building a significant one, at least here in the states, would face more hurdles than Edwin Moses ever did, Bob.

A story earlier this year in Barron’s cited such woes as securing the needed permits and the amount of money and time it takes to build one. Forbes, in an article from last year, added other obstacles: climate change concerns and society’s resistance to promote fossil fuels.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, Fox Business reported, said last year he didn’t believe the U.S. would produce another new refinery because of the federal government’s stance: “At every level of the system, the policy of our government is to reduce demand, and so it’s very hard in a business where investments have a payout period of a decade or more.”

There are, though, new refineries in Nigeria and Mexico.

HONKIN’ FACT: The 1953 double-decker bus Paul and Linda McCartney bought in 1972 for a Wings tour that year will be on the auction block in mid-November. Painted in psychedelic colors, it offered a playpen, mattresses and beanbags on the top deck for the bandmates and their families while enjoying the sunshine. The bus logged more than 7,500 miles in ’72 for a European tour. It is forecast to be sold for $200,000 to $300,000. (Source: Julien’s Auctions.)

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Jim Fuchs, Costa Mesa

A. Honk reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration and was told air-traffic controllers worked with the jets coming in for the Pacific Airshow – which was over the water off of the Huntington Beach coast. Also, temporary flight restrictions were put in place.

Some arriving commercial flights into John Wayne, over the 405 Freeway, were slowed down a bit to accommodate the incoming air show jets – that was done so the airport didn’t become overwhelmed, a FAA official said.

And some John Wayne departures over the ocean were indeed re-routed, flying a slightly longer, different path to avoid the air show.

Q. The new Bushard Street bridge over the 405 Freeway was finished awhile ago. Now they have closed the two outer lanes and are doing repairs. What happened to the bridge and what are they fixing?

– Steve Barnes, Santa Ana

A. The bridge was the recipient of a new manhole, Steve, so if needed workers can get to a water line that runs through the bridge.

And other stuff required some attention leading to the closure.

While overseeing the $2.2 billion widening and improvement of the 405, the Orange County Transportation Authority’s “priority throughout construction has been to open the bridges to traffic as soon as possible to minimize impacts to drivers and the surrounding community, with the expectation that some additional minor work may be needed,” Megan Abba, an OCTA spokesperson, told Honk in an email.

“And that’s what the Honk reader is referring to on Bushard Street,” she said. “The recent closures were necessary to allow crews to install an additional manhole on the bridge. That installation, along with work to ensure that the sidewalks and curb meet all state-design requirements, was recently completed and the lanes have reopened.”

The 405’s new lanes are scheduled to open by year’s end.

But the strategy deployed on the Bushard bridge will again be in play.

“Drivers may notice crews working on the final touches throughout the project area through spring 2024,” Abba said. “That work includes landscaping and installing lighting on the bridges.”

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Thomas Rubio, Carson

A. Yes.

In Orange County, for example, Caltrans has “noticed some general terracing below freeway underpasses” by homeless people, said Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman, in an email. “(But) we have not encountered any significant terracing that would compromise the design or impact the roadway’s structural functionality.”

Caltrans does check out such concerns and would do any necessary repairs or restoration.

He asked that anyone in the state seeing a homeless encampment on Caltrans property to report it via the agency’s Customer Service Request form at csr.dot.ca.gov.

Q. Your last column regarding the Department of Motor Vehicles knowledge test was of interest to me. I didn’t realize all DMV offices might not have the option for the paper/pencil test. When renewing my license several years ago, the computer was unable to read my finger prints (my fingers are very smooth), so I had to take the test the old-fashioned way.

– Judy Badstuebner, Fullerton

A. The Ol’ Honkster couldn’t confirm last week that every DMV office offered the option, and told residents of Honkland he would return with the information.

A DMV spokesman, Ronald Ongtoaboc, kindly provided it for those who do go into a DMV office:

“The DMV encourages customers to take knowledge tests on the touchscreen terminals, this method reduces paper, protects against cheating and streamlines grading,” Ongtoaboc told Honk in an email. “If this method does not meet the customer’s needs, they are offered an audio test. If neither of these options are suitable, paper tests are available for all test types upon request from the customer.”

But, many can take the test or the eLearning seminar online; those 70 or older must pass the test or wend through the 45-minute seminar to renew their driver’s licenses.

HONKIN’ FACT: Sheriff’s deputies in Florida pulled over, guns drawn, a sedan on Interstate 75 last week that had been reported stolen. The 10-year-old driver and his 11-year-old sister hopped out. They had driven the first 200 miles on their trip to California. The girl told officers she was upset their mom– who had reported the car stolen and the children missing – had taken her electronic devices away for not behaving well. The Associated Press didn’t reveal how the family reunion went.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– John Gibson, Fullerton

A. Probably not in the way you would prefer, John.

You likely want the option of taking eLearning – a seven-part online seminar that you can’t fail – instead of the knowledge test for your motorcycle renewal.

Well, that avenue exists for many motorists renewing their standard C class driver’s licenses to operate a car or a small truck – passing the test or taking eLearning is a must for those ages 70 and older.

But …

“The eLearning course is not available for the motorcycle endorsement,” Ronald Ongtoaboc, a spokesman, told Honk.

But you can complete the knowledge test online for the motorcycle add-on to your license, John, so long as you succeed in the first two attempts. Just like drivers can take that test online.

A third swing for either test requires heading into an office to take it.

“Tests at field offices are given via touchscreen terminals and are available in 36 languages,” Ongtoaboc said.

Q. In your column on DMV knowledge tests, I don’t think you mentioned the option of taking those tests at a DMV office via old-fashioned hard-copy paper and pencil instead of a computer. When I recently renewed my license, there was a long line for the computer stations and a DMV person was looking for volunteers for the the old-fashioned method. I volunteered and thought it was easier, because I could go back over my answers and think about them. I only passed by one point so was glad I volunteered! I have since learned that at least two of the local DMV offices offer the option of taking the written text with the old-fashioned pencil and paper.

–  Elizabeth Hoffman, Rancho Palos Verdes 

A. Thumbs up.

Paper tests, at least at some DMV offices, are offered to motorists wishing to renew.

To get more specifics on that option, Honk has a few questions into the DMV and will return to Honkland with the goods.

HONKIN’ FACT: The city of Los Angeles unveiled last month what is apparently the nation’s first all-electric street sweeper, reported Linh Tat of the Southern California News Group. The $800,000-plus price tag is nearly twice that of a conventional sweeper, Councilman Bob Blumenfield said, but there won’t be the gas bill and maintenance should cost less.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Paul Maldonado, Yorba Linda

A. Dad doesn’t need to pass what was once called the “written test” for a driver’s license renewal and is now called the “knowledge test,” Paul, although real basic computer skills are required.

Instead, he can use the Department of Motor Vehicles’ interactive eLearning course in that test’s place, if eligible and renewing the basic Class C license most drivers have. Designed for folks who have troubles with tests, or just want to try something else, it should take 45 minutes or so to finish on a home computer.

The course has a quiz for each of seven sections.

This isn’t like a field goal attempt with the clock running out and the defense charging toward the kicker – the user can take the quizzes as many times as desired.

And those going through the course can take a break, just as long as they finish the course within a year.

At this point, though, it is only available in English.

The knowledge test, meanwhile, is available in 35 languages from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, except on holidays, on a computer. A webcam is required so the test taker can be monitored. If you fail the test twice, the third attempt must be in a DMV office.

Q. Hi Honk: Why did the 405 Freeway construction take away the loop off-ramps at Beach Boulevard? Those off-ramps provided a smoother exit and reduced congestion.

– Lloyd Joly, Huntington Beach

A. Honk reached out to the Orange County Transportation Authority, which is overseeing the $2.2 billion effort to widen and improve the 405 between the 73 and the 605 Freeway that is to be finished before year’s end.

And, well, let’s just say the agency has a different take than yours, Lloyd.

“The configuration of the ramps at Beach Boulevard was redesigned from a full cloverleaf to a partial cloverleaf,” Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesman, told Honk in an email. “The new design reduces weaving and merging between ramps, in turn improving safety and traffic flow and reducing congestion.”

HONKIN’ FACT: Alerted by a 911 call, an officer in Nebraska a couple of weeks ago pulled over a modified Ford Crown Victoria that had a full-size bull riding in the area usually reserved for the front passenger seat, The Associated Press reported. Half of the car’s windshield and roof have been cut away to allow Howdy Doody to show off during parades. It was unclear why Howdy Doody was not in a trailer this time, as he wasn’t in a parade, but it was clear there were some traffic violations in play, a police spokesman said. Still, the officer told the driver to just take his pal home and consider the traffic stop a warning.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly known as Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Chuck Trudeau, Nipomo

A. Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles’ website, dmv.ca.gov, and search for “Customer Support.” Or you can go old school and report it via snail mail: DMV Policy Division, P.O. Box 825393, Sacramento, California, 94232-5393.

Under state law, the DMV must review any application for a personalized license-plate “number” (it is really a sequence). They are prohibited if they connote sex, vulgarity, prejudice, hostility or allude to a police agency. Officials consider foreign and slang meanings and phonetic spellings.

“The public can contact the department if they see a personalized plate they believe is offensive,” Ron Ongtoaboc, a DMV spokesman, told Honk in an email. “All complaints received are reviewed by the department, and if a configuration is determined to fall under one of the prohibited categories the department will request the plates be returned.”

Honk wanted more info on personalized plates, and Ongtoaboc kindly obliged.

As of Jan 1, there were 1,123,008 personalized plates on the roadways.

Last year, there were 275,985 requests for a set of them. On average, 10% are rejected annually, Ongtoaboc said.

Since Jan. 1, 2021, there have been 28 complaints from the public about personalized plates that were spotted out and about. Only one resulted in the plates being pulled off of the street – that was for, Ongtoaboc said, having a “configuration misrepresenting law enforcement.”

Q. Honk: So why can people stand on a bus when it is moving despite the fact there are seat belt laws for most vehicles? Weren’t seat belt laws enacted as a safety device in the event of a collision? Standing on a bus does not seem safe to me.

– Joanne Lopez, Long Beach

A. Joanne, a friend of Honk’s, asked him that question while the two of them, and her husband, waited at Dodger Stadium for a ride home after a game.

Several LA Metro buses were getting ready to give fans a lift back to a park-and-ride lot, and the trio wasn’t in the mood to stand during the journey, so when the first bus had no seats left, they let other riders willing to stand pass them in line. Honk and his pals waited for the next bus to grab seats.

Later, the ol’ Honkster reached out to two large mass-transit operators to get an answer for Joanne.

“If Metro voluntarily provided seat belts on its buses, their use would be mandatory, and violators could be fined,” Patrick Chandler, a spokesman for LA Metro, told Honk in an email. “But public transit operators are not required to provide bus seat belts.

“Metro has no specific stance beyond what the regulatory agencies require of public transit agencies.”

In Honk’s experiences, standing mass-transit riders are pretty good about allowing others to find a rail or a strap to hold onto. Of course, letting people stand allows mass-transit operators to deploy fewer buses, saving taxpayer money.

Next, Honk went to Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which also lets riders stand, a likely standard practice throughout the country.

Zlotnik talked to an operations expert at the agency, who told him only the driver on public-transit buses, under federal law, must wear a seat belt.

The thought, Zlotnik relayed, is that public buses are so much heavier than other vehicles, roll along slower than them, and have a professional driver, so there is less chance of a serious collision with buses. Also, in a crash, because of the coach’s size and weight, the chances of passengers getting jostled aren’t high.

If OCTA buses had to ensure patrons were in seat belts, that would be difficult to enforce, the operations expert also said, and the coaches would lose half of their capacity. Many of the buses offer 35 seats and have the ability to hold another 35 passengers while standing.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

– Morris Victor, Alhambra

A. It, in fact, is a what, Morris:

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

“It is based on ADA standards,” said Kassandra Cornejo, an assistant planner for Alhambra. “The ratio depends on the number (of spaces).”

For the first 100 spaces in a lot, one needs to be set aside for each 25. You round up, so if there are 27 spaces, two disabled-person spaces are required.

For bigger lots, different ratios apply.

Local governments – such as cities and counties – can increase the number of parking stalls set aside, but often don’t. Parking lots that serve the public must abide by the federal law – think businesses, city halls and parks and churches.

Now, if Honk owned a John Dutton-sized ranch that the public did not have access to, he would not be required to set aside any such space – but if he thought people with a disability would be better served, he would.

Q. Hi Honk: Do you have any information on why the work on the transition from the southbound 55 Freeway to the southbound 73 has stopped? They managed to get enough of the work done to cause a major jam during commute times, then abandoned the work, leaving a mess. No one has so much as lifted a shovel for months and months. Our tax dollars at work? I don’t even take the 73. But sometimes on the 55, the only safe lane is the No. 1. In the other lanes, drivers are jockeying for position to get onto the 73 – or swinging away from the congestion.

– Frustrated Morning Commuter (Rick O’Reilly, Newport Beach)

A. Dear Frustrated …

Honk answered this one several months ago, and not a lot has changed. But because he has been asked about this more times than Mrs. Honk has assigned him a honey-do, he circled back to Caltrans for the latest.

In October 2021, a project began there to upgrade that ramp. One lane was closed to protect workers and motorists, with the other one left open to traffic with plans to occasionally close it at night when needed.

The project was to be finished later this year.

Not going to happen.

“On Feb. 2, 2023, Caltrans terminated the contract since the contractor couldn’t fulfill its contractual obligations,” Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman for Orange County, told Honk in an email. “Approximately 45% of the work has already been finished. We anticipate that the work already accomplished will only need to be slightly modified by the new contractor.”

So Caltrans began the process of hiring a new contractor, which, to ensure taxpayers usually get a fair price and solid work, can take some time.

“This process is almost complete and Caltrans expects the new contractor to resume work on the project within a month,” Abler said. “Once the project ramps back up, Caltrans expects the remainder of the work to take about one calendar year, weather permitting.”

Once a $7.5 million project, that price tag could increase but a bonding company, which acts as a layer of insurance, is to cover any bump up.

HONKIN’ UPDATE: About 80 plastic poles, called channelizers, were recently installed on the northbound 241 Toll Road at the 91 Freeway, said Michele Miller, a spokeswoman for the agency that manages the 241. They are to block cheaters from taking free-flowing lanes that transition to the westbound 91 and at the last moment cutting over a dirt median so they avoid the afternoon congestion on the lanes to the eastbound 91.

For years, tollway officials have battled the dangerous lane-switching problem, with Honk readers weighing in along the way. Double-white lines were added, and so were signs, and finally 800-plus channelizers to keep people in their proper lanes. Not enough. Blocking the median is the latest attempt at a total solution.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X (FormerlyTwitter): @OCRegisterHonk