New express lanes set to open on 10 Freeway in Ontario area ahead of Labor Day weekend

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- New express lanes on the 10 Freeway are scheduled to be opened for drivers just in time for Labor Day weekend.

The lanes run 10 miles from the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line to just east of the 15 Freeway. There will be two express lanes in each direction.

Following four years of construction, the lanes are expected to open at 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

"The public has been, in my opinion, unbelievably patient during this construction effort while we try to build a very complex engineering effort while maintaining traffic," said Tim Watkins, a spokesman for the San Bernardino Transportation Authority.

Drivers can either get a FasTrak transponder to pay the toll, or they can use the lanes and pay the toll online within five days.

County officials say the new lanes will help ease congestion. Two additional phases of construction will later extend the length of the express lanes to a total of 33 miles.

"It's a big deal because I-10 carries nearly 300,000 vehicle trips daily through that corridor ," Watkins said. "And during peak times it can be very challenging to get through -- and unpredictable. Giving people an option when it matters most is a pretty cool offering that we get to provide, and I hope that people get to experience the benefits sooner rather than later."