The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), in partnership with Caltrans and the County of Riverside, is conducting final design and engineering for a new 2-mile limited access expressway with two lanes in each direction between Simpson Road and Newport Road in Winchester. Three signalized intersections at Newport Road, Domenigoni Parkway, and Simpson Road will be placed. This project is “Segment 3” of RCTC’s 79 Realignment Project, which will provide a 12-mile north-south transportation corridor between the community of Winchester and San Jacinto. The project will be renamed since it will not be part of the state highway system.

The new transportation corridor is designed to meet the needs of the area’s growing population and will include two lanes in each direction separated by a 14-foot median buffer, outside shoulders, accommodations for a future 35-foot-wide transit corridor, and a multipurpose trail. The benefits and features include:

• Improve traffic flow for local and regional north-south traffic in the San Jacinto Valley with a new corridor
• Reduce division of traffic from the state routes onto local roadways
• Wildlife crossing at Patton Avenue and Patterson Avenue
• Bridge over Salt Creek Channel and Patterson Avenue
• Enhance safety by constructing a 14-foot median buffer, outside shoulders, and accommodations for a future transit corridor