Call Boxes to Be Installed Along Freeway Medians
To aid drivers stranded in the middle of the freeway, more than 200 emergency call boxes will be added to Orange County freeway medians over the next 13 years under plans approved Monday.
Until now, such call boxes have been installed only on freeway shoulders along the right side of the freeway.
The new call boxes will be installed along car-pool lanes. The phones will be mounted on poles attached to the concrete center divider along the lanes and in median “pockets” used by the California Highway Patrol to ticket motorists.
“The installation of call boxes in these locations would offer stranded motorists the ability to reach help without waiting for a CHP patrol officer or risking crossing a crowded freeway,” said a report presented Monday to the Orange County Transportation Commission.
Currently, Orange County’s call-box system handles more than 11,000 calls per month.
The solar-powered phones are financed by a $1 levy added to Orange County residents’ vehicle registration fees.
Currently, only the Costa Mesa and San Diego freeways have car-pool lanes, but such lanes are planned for all but the Garden Grove Freeway.
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