The West Valley Connector Project (WVC) is the second Bus Rapid Transit corridor being developed in San Bernardino County. In its entirety, WVC is a proposed 35 mile-long transit improvement project that would connect the cities of Pomona, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana. Stations are spaced 0.5 to 1 mile apart and are “rapid bus” style stations designed for fast boarding to facilitate higher operating speeds. Phase I will connect the Downtown Pomona Metrolink Station on the Riverside Line, the Ontario International Airport, Ontario Mills, the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink Station on the San Bernardino Line, and Victoria Gardens. The funding plan approved by the Board of Directors on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 focuses on Phase I of the project.
Phase I of the proposed WVC will upgrade a portion of existing Route 61 (Omnitrans) which runs along Holt Boulevard serving the Ontario International Airport and providing valuable connections at Ontario Mills, Downtown Pomona Metrolink Station, as well as the Fontana Kaiser Hospital. Route 61 currently accounts for 1.2 million riders per year, or about 12% of Omnitrans annual ridership despite being only 1 of 34 system wide routes. It is Omnitrans’ highest ridership route.
In November 2019, the SBCTA Board selected the preferred alternative for the final Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA), which includes approximately 3.5 miles of exclusive lanes in the City of Ontario, Transit Signal Priority (TSP), and other transportation systems management improvements such as queue jump lanes. Implementation of the WVC is expected to increase transit usage, reduce traffic congestion and automobile vehicle miles traveled, and improve regional air quality. The final environmental approval for the WVC is expected in March 2020. For more information about the project, visit the project page at gosbcta.com/westvalleyconnector.