# California State Route 73

State Route 73 (SR 73) is an approximately 17.76-mile (28.58 km) state highway in Orange County, California. The southernmost 12 miles (19.31 km) of the highway is a toll road operated by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency named the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor, which opened in November 1996. The northernmost 5.76 miles (9.27 km) of the highway, which opened in 1978, is part of the Corona del Mar Freeway. SR 73's southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near the San Juan Capistrano–Mission Viejo–Laguna Niguel tripoint. Its northern terminus is at Interstate 405 (I-405) in Costa Mesa. The highway's alignment through the San Joaquin Hills follows an approximately parallel path between the Pacific Coast Highway and I-405. Currently, there are no HOV lanes for the three-mile freeway segment, but the medians have been designed with sufficient clearance for their construction should the need arise in the future.

## Route description

SR 73 begins at an interchange with I-5 near the San Juan Capistrano–Mission Viejo–Laguna Niguel tripoint. The freeway heads northwest into Laguna Niguel before the tolled portion begins at the Greenfield Drive exit. After passing Greenfield Drive, SR 73 enters Aliso Viejo before entering Laguna Beach, where SR 73 has an interchange with SR 133. Following this, the road passes through Crystal Cove State Park, where the main toll plazas are located. After leaving the state park, SR 73 straddles the border between Irvine and Newport Beach and provides easy access to University of California, Irvine through the Bison Avenue exit. Following the MacArthur Boulevard exit, the tolled part of the road ends and becomes a freeway. SR 73 continues into Newport Beach, running along the southern boundary of Orange County John Wayne Airport (IATA Airport Code SNA). Entering Costa Mesa, SR 73 interchanges with SR 55 before ending at I-405.
SR 73 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.

## History

Originally, SR 73's southern terminus was SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in Corona del Mar. Specifically, SR 73's Corona del Mar Freeway's southern terminus was at MacArthur Boulevard, and the SR 73 designation ran along MacArthur south to SR 1.
The design and construction of the tollway portion of SR 73 was overseen by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agencies, or SJHTCA, an agency formed in 1988 for purpose of providing a direct route between I-5 and I-405 through the San Joaquin Hills. Under this realignment, heading southbound, SR 73 becomes a designated toll road immediately after the Jamboree/MacArthur ramp and remains so until its southern terminus at I-5. Though the next exit heading southbound, Bison Avenue, is part of the toll road, it is toll-free, as is the first exit, Greenfield Drive, heading northbound from I-5.
The total cost of the tollway project was $800 million. It included 10 interchanges, 68 bridges, 725,000 square feet (67,400 m$^2$) of retaining walls, and 32 million cubic yards (24,000,000 m$^3$) of excavation at completion. Construction was divided into four sections, each with an individual management system and quality control. A joint venture led by Kiewit Pacific Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, completed this project in 1996.
SR 73's toll road was the first to be financed with tax-exempt bonds on a stand-alone basis, including construction and environmental risk. In 2011, $2.1 billion in debt for the San Joaquin Hills toll roads was restructured, which pushed back the time until the bonds are paid off and the route becomes a freeway to 2042. In 2014, the debt was again restructured in an attempt to get improved interest rates, improved debt ratings, and in the process save $44 million in debt repayment. This resulted in another eight years of payments, delaying the pay-off date to 2050. Under this new plan the debt can be paid off earlier than 2050 if ridership and revenue improve.

## Tolls

The tolled portion of SR 73 (beginning after Greenfield Drive in the northbound direction, and starting after the Bison Avenue exit in the southbound direction) employs a barrier toll system, where drivers are charged flat-rate tolls based on what particular toll booths they pass through. Since May 13, 2014, the road has been using an all-electronic, open road tolling system, and on October 2, 2019, the license plate tolling program, under the brand name "ExpressAccount", was discontinued. Drivers may still pay using the FasTrak electronic toll collection device, or via a one time payment online 5 days before or after their trip on the toll road. Drivers who do not pay after 5 days will be assessed an additional toll violation penalty.
Drivers who drive the entire tolled segment of SR 73 will only encounter the Catalina View toll gantry. As of July 2024, the gantry uses a variable pricing scheme based on the time of day for FasTrak users (it is not truly congestion priced because toll rates come from a preset schedule and are not based on actual congestion); non-FasTrak drivers must pay the $9.36 maximum toll regardless of the day and time. Tolls are also collected at a flat rate for all drivers at the northbound exits and southbound entrances of La Paz Road ($2.70), Aliso Creek Road ($3.36), and SR 133 ($4.08); and at the southbound exits and northbound entrances of Newport Coast Drive ($3.78) and Bonita Canyon Drive ($2.28).

## Exit list

The entire route is in Orange County.
| Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| San Juan Capistrano–Mission Viejo– Laguna Niguel tripoint | 0.00 | 0.00 | — | I-5 south (San Diego Freeway) – San Diego | No access to I-5 north; southern terminus of SR 73; I-5 north exit 85A |
| Laguna Niguel–Laguna Hills line | 1.79 | 2.88 | 2 | Greenfield Drive | Southern end of toll road; only free exit for northbound traffic |
| Aliso Viejo | 2.91 | 4.68 | 3 | Moulton Parkway | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Aliso Viejo | 3.40 | 5.47 | 3 | La Paz Road | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Aliso Viejo | 4.72 | 7.60 | 4 | Aliso Creek Road | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Aliso Viejo | 5.25 | 8.45 | 5 | Pacific Park Drive / Glenwood Drive | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Aliso Viejo–Laguna Beach line | 6.35– 6.82 | 10.22– 10.98 | 6 | SR 133 (Laguna Canyon Road) / El Toro Road (CR S18) | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exit 7 southbound |
| San Joaquin Hills | 8.70 | 14.00 | Catalina View toll gantry | Catalina View toll gantry | Catalina View toll gantry |
| Irvine–Newport Beach line | 11.46 | 18.44 | 11 | Newport Coast Drive | Tolled southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Irvine–Newport Beach line | 12.00 | 19.31 | 12 | Bonita Canyon Drive | Tolled southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Irvine–Newport Beach line | 12.74 | 20.50 | 13 | Bison Avenue | Last free exit for southbound traffic |
| Irvine–Newport Beach line | 14.00 | 22.53 | 14 | MacArthur Boulevard north – John Wayne Airport | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of toll road |
| Irvine–Newport Beach line | 14.00 | 22.53 | 14A | MacArthur Boulevard south – Newport Beach | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former routing of SR 73 south |
| Newport Beach | 14.35 | 23.09 | 14B | University Drive | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Newport Beach | 15.01 | 24.16 | 15 | Jamboree Road | No northbound exit |
| Newport Beach | 15.01 | 24.16 | 15 | Birch Street | Northbound exit only |
| Newport Beach | 15.53 | 24.99 | 16 | Irvine Avenue / Campus Drive | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Costa Mesa | 16.53– 17.23 | 26.60– 27.73 | 17A | SR 55 north (Costa Mesa Freeway) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; SR 55 south exit 5A |
| Costa Mesa | 16.53– 17.23 | 26.60– 27.73 | 17B | SR 55 south (Costa Mesa Freeway) | Signed as exit 17A southbound; SR 55 north exits 5A-B |
| Costa Mesa | 17.23 | 27.73 | 17C | Bear Street | Signed as exit 17B southbound |
| Costa Mesa | 17.76– 17.95 | 28.58– 28.89 | 18B | Fairview Road | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Costa Mesa | 17.76– 17.95 | 28.58– 28.89 | — | 405 Express Lanes north | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; opened in December 2023 |
| Costa Mesa | 17.76– 17.95 | 28.58– 28.89 | — | Susan Street / Harbor Boulevard | Northbound exit only; southbound access via I-405 |
| Costa Mesa | 17.76– 17.95 | 28.58– 28.89 | 18A | I-405 north (San Diego Freeway) – Long Beach | No access to I-405 south; northern terminus of SR 73; I-405 south exit 10 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/former Electronic toll collection Incomplete access ||||||