San Bernardino County will make its first foray into toll lanes.

A 33-mile corridor will be built on the 10 Freeway and span much of the county, transportation officials decided Wednesday, July 12.

The $1.8-billion project would add two toll lanes from the Los Angeles County line at Montclair east to Redlands. An auxiliary lane for traffic to weave in and out at ramps also will be added at various points along the general-purpose lanes.

Construction, which would be split into two stages, is expected to start in late 2018. The first segment, from the county line to the 15 Freeway, is expected to be finished by 2022. The rest would begin in 2021 and take three years to complete.

Expanding the 10 Freeway corridor, which is heavily used by commuters and trucks hauling cargo to the rest of the country, has long been a top priority of the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.

The decision to use toll lanes has been controversial with some residents and members of the governing board. The board — made up of elected officials from the county and its cities — voted 16 to 2 Wednesday, July 12, to approve an environmental report and to create the toll lanes.

Transportation officials say the project will bring a faster alternative for commuters who choose to pay the new tolls. And, by diverting that traffic onto two new lanes, it would also ease congestion on the general lanes, said Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner, president of the transportation board.

“The only way to increase the (freeway) capacity is through express lanes,” he said, noting the project will be paid for by future toll proceeds.

Most other Southern California counties have added toll lanes to their freeways. Wapner said that not doing so in San Bernardino County could create bottlenecks when the lanes narrow as vehicles enter the county.

Chino City Councilwoman Eunice Ulloa and County Supervisor Josie Gonzales were the two no votes. Each cited their opposition to asking motorists to pay tolls.

“I do not have a high-wage-earning population,” Gonzales said of her district, which includes San Bernardino, Rialto and Colton. “I cannot in good conscience impose on my residents something I feel they will not be able to afford to enjoy without further economic impacts.”

San Bernardino County Supervisor Robert Lovingood called it a hard decision but said that if they don’t go forward, the result would be “gridlock” on the freeway.

About a dozen residents spoke against toll lanes. Some held signs and called the board a “shadow government” and its members traitors.

Tressy Capps, a Fontana resident who filed a lawsuit seeking to block the project, accused the agency of rushing the process. She said the agency did not do enough to inform residents. As an example, she cited a public notice that made no mention of “toll” or “express” lanes. The flier describes it as the “Interstate 10 corridor project” with new freeway lanes, though public reports on the project do include the words.

“The San Bernardino County taxpayers deserve better,” Capps said.

Paula Beauchamp, project delivery director for the agency, said it has done an extensive public outreach program with more than 140 meetings informing residents of the toll lanes proposal.

Others, including representatives of a laborers union and business associations, spoke in favor of the project and said it’s badly needed to ease congestion.

“I think you’re going to find that people out there are going to be delighted to have the option to move their businesses and goods more efficiently,” said Carole Beswick, president of Inland Action, a nonprofit group made up of business and community leaders.

The route is one of the region’s most widely used, with about 263,000 vehicles and more than 20,000 commercial trucks a day, the agency reports. By 2045, the number of vehicles is expected to grow to 350,000 a day.

The agency’s next steps will be to begin buying property along the freeway needed for its widening and to choose a contractor to handle final design and construction. The agency expects to rebuild or modify several ramps, bridges and interchanges along the route.

The project encompasses the 10 Freeway from the Monte Vista Avenue exit in Montclair to Ford Street in Redlands. A small portion — from California Street to Ford Street in Redlands — would only have one toll lane in each direction, though the majority of the project would have two.