It’s been a tough three years for those relying on the 5 Freeway between the Orange County border and the 605 Freeway or for those living or doing business in the area.

And there’s still an estimated four years to go, Caltrans officials predict.

Contractors for Caltrans have torn the freeway apart, demolished bridges and rebuilt them, and removed some of the off- and on-ramps.

It’s all part of the $1.8 billion, 6.7-mile widening project to add a general-purpose lane and a car pool lane on each side to the existing six-lane freeway. The project likely won’t be finished for another four years.

The state also has purchased 426 parcels – some in part, other in full – including residential, commercial, industrial, governmental uses. One of the largest to go was the seven-unit shopping center at the northwest corner of Florence Avenue and Orr and Day Road.

Most agree the project is needed but say it hasn’t been easy.

“It’s like driving through a slalom,” said Darren Ramsey who drives the 5 Freeway on his way to work from his Pico Rivera home to work in Riverside.

“They put the k-rails on both sides, there’s no shoulder and the lanes have narrowed. You kind of zig and zag.”

Still, the project is needed, he said.

“I know it will be awesome once it gets done,” he said. “You just have to live with it.”

The widening project consists of six segments – two of which have yet to start.

The Alondra Boulevard project – from just north of Valley View Avenue to just north of Alondra is 80 percent complete, said Patrick Chandler, Caltrans spokesman.

The Carmenita Road segment from just north of Alondra to Shoemaker Avenue is 56 percent done; Rosecrans and Bloomfield Avenue from Shoemaker to Silverbow Avenue, 43 percent; and Imperial Highway/Pioneer Boulevard from Silverbow to Orr and Day Road, 42 percent, Chandler said.

The Florence Avenue segment to the north and Valley View Avenue to the south have yet to begin.

As bad as the problems have been for businesses that have lost access or drivers dealing with the changing road conditions, officials from cities in the area say the project so far has gone well and is mostly on schedule.

“I think (Caltrans) has done a really good job in moving this forward,” said Norwalk Councilman Mike Mendez, who also is chairman of the I-5 Joint Powers Authority that represents the cities of Commerce, Downey, La Mirada, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs. It was formed in 1991 to represent the cities in pushing for the widening and ensuring the state took their interests into account.

“There’s just so much that has to be done,” Mendez said. “For the community, it’s difficult with all of the closures of the off-ramps and different things they’ve had to do.”

However, the Shoemaker Avenue bridge, which was demolished was finished sooner than planned and the Alondra bridge – also taken down – were done on schedule, he said.

Mendez said the biggest complaints have been over noise and dust but added he believes Caltrans has tried to solve those problems.

So far, the Alondra Boulevard and Shoemaker Avenue bridges have been demolished, rebuilt and opened.

The opening of the Alondra bridge was good news for the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet.

The closure of that bridge cut the business off from about 90 percent of its customers who used that street to go to the swap meet, said Rick Landis, director of business development for Newport Diversified, which owns the swap meet.

Landis said business was down by about 25 percent during the closure. But like others, he said the widening is needed.

“It’s for the greater good of Los Angeles County,” he said.

The next significant milestone expected to be completed will be the new Carmenita Road bridge. The road will be widened from its two-lane width to 10 lanes. It is expected to be completed in mid-2015, said Chandler.

Completion of that bridge will be huge for the area, said Noe Negrete, Santa Fe Springs public works director.

“It’s one of the last remaining bridges that has only one lane in each direction,” Negrete said.

The new Carmenita bridge will be done just in time to accommodate additional traffic from the north and south when work begins on the Florence and Valley View avenue bridges, said Negrete.

The two bridges, which now have two lanes in each direction, each are expected to be reduced to one each way, Negrete said.

For students living south of Florence, Caltrans has tentatively agreed to pay for a shuttle for Santa Fe High School students to reach school and home, said Chandler and Negrete.

The shuttle isn’t likely to be needed until the fall of 2015.

Work on Valley View also isn’t likely to begin until a year from now.

The existing northbound off-ramp, which heads directly into the Gateway Center Plaza, will be relocated away from the businesses, said John Yang, Caltrans construction coordinator for the project.

La Mirada city officials had lobbied Caltrans to keep the off-ramp in the same location but were told that to do so would mean the removal of several businesses near the freeway, said Mark Stowell, La Mirada city public works director.

Manuel Durazo, an employee of IQAir that’s in the Gateway center, isn’t looking forward to the Valley View construction.

“Oh, my goodness, I’m going to start planning to buy a plane or helicopter, he joked.

Still, the project is necessary, said Durazo who lives near Magic Mountain and drives the 5 Freeway every day.

“It’s something that has to be done,” he said.