A plan to expand and upgrade Southern California's congested state Route 91 has received a $421-million federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation's July 3 loan announcement means construction on the $1.3-billion design-build project in Riverside County can begin by the end of 2013.

"This project is going to make Riverside County more accessible and more attractive to potential employers and businesses once it's completed," says John Standiford, deputy executive director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), which applied for the loan."This funding allows us to do something major to this corridor, rather than just trying to build a lane at a time here and there."