On Monday, June 1, 2026, RCTC, in partnership with Caltrans, City of Temecula, and Western Riverside Council of Governments, launched the state’s first-of-its-kind Smart Freeway system with the activation of the I-15 Smart Freeway Project. The pilot project will operate for a two-year period.

“Launching California’s first Smart Freeway is an exciting step forward for Riverside County,” said RCTC Chair Raymond Gregory. “Building our way out of traffic congestion is not an option. In today’s environment of rapid growth, we must look at how we can combine technology with existing infrastructure to improve the driving experience. The Smart Freeway Pilot Project is an example of finding a lower cost solution that will help improve traffic flow without the addition of new lanes.”

This project is intended to address the increasing traffic congestion along an 8-mile stretch of northbound I-15 between the Riverside/San Diego County line in Temecula and the I-15/I-215 interchange in Murrieta. The newly activated system uses advanced traffic sensors and adaptive ramp metering to optimize the rate of vehicles entering the freeway during peak hours – improving traffic flow, reducing stop-and-go conditions, and providing more reliable travel times for drivers.

Ramp meters at Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road, and Winchester Road will operate in coordination to optimize the rate of vehicles entering the freeway during peak hours. Digital message signs will display recommended speeds in real-time to improve safety and traffic flow. During the pilot period, drivers may have a slightly longer wait before entering the freeway, but the goal is to improve overall freeway travel times.

In coordination with Caltrans, RCTC will analyze results over two years to evaluate system performance. A public dashboard will be available by the end of the year to share updates and performance metrics with the community. If the system is determined to be successful, implementation may be considered in other parts of Riverside County and beyond.

The project was funded by federal, state, and local sources. Of the $33 million secured, $27 million came from federal funding; the State provided $1 million, and $5 million was secured through a congressional Community Project Funding request by Representative Ken Calvert. Local, state, and federal officials gathered in the City of Temecula on Friday, May 29 to celebrate the partnership and significant project milestone of the system’s activation.

For more information about this innovative project, please visit: rctc.org/smartfreeway

The I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project has reached a significant milestone. In February, the Commission launched a 90-day baseline data collection period to help establish a reference point for current traffic conditions on northbound I-15 between the San Diego/Riverside County line and the I-15 in the city of Murrieta. Data collected during the pilot period will serve as a baseline to evaluate system performance over a two-year span. Results from the pilot period will help determine future implementation and whether this innovative approach could improve freeway operations in other parts of Riverside County and beyond.

This first-of-its-kind project in California incorporated “smart” technology on nearly eight miles of road along northbound I-15. Completed in late 2025, the system will use advanced traffic sensors and adaptive ramp metering to optimize traffic flow on the northbound I-15 and potentially make commutes shorter.

During the 90-day baseline data collection period, several sensors along this stretch of northbound I-15 will be gathering data on traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, and travel times to establish a snapshot of how the corridor is performing. Drivers won’t notice any changes to traffic patterns during this period. After the 90 days, activated ramp meters will adjust in real time to help smooth traffic flow, reduce stop-and-go conditions, and improve travel time reliability – marking the official start of the I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project demonstration period.

A public dashboard will be launched this spring at smartfreeway.org to share corridor performance data with the community, including traffic volume and travel times. Residents and commuters will be able to track how the system is performing over the two-year pilot period.

For more information about the I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project and to sign up for future updates, please visit: rctc.org/smartfreeway

Residents and motorists planning to travel northbound on I-15 from the Rancho California Road loop on-ramp are advised to plan ahead for an extended closure of the ramp. The extended full closure of the Rancho California Road loop on-ramp for northbound I-15 will begin on Thursday, August 14 at 9 p.m. through Monday, August 25 at 5 a.m. The closures are required to allow crews to safely extend a second lane of the on-ramp by several hundred feet and create a safety pocket for emergency vehicles.

While crews are completing work on the ramp, motorists are advised to travel east on Rancho California Road, northbound on Ynez Road, and west on Winchester Road to enter Northbound I-15.

Closure dates are subject to change due to weather, site conditions, construction progress, and other factors.

The work will involve reconfiguring and realigning the ramp to create a merge point between the loop and the direct on-ramps for Rancho California Road.

The Smart Freeway Pilot Project will use ramp meters that work as a coordinated system that adapts to allow more or fewer vehicles to enter I-15 at any given time from the Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road, and Winchester Road on-ramps. The project is anticipated to improve overall traffic flow and reduce rear-end collisions within the I-15 corridor, without highway expansion and related construction costs and impacts.

For more information about the Smart Freeway Pilot Project and the Temecula Parkway on-ramp closure, visit rctc.org/temeculaclosures 

Residents and motorists planning to travel northbound on I-15 using the Rancho California Road direct on-ramp are advised to plan ahead for an extended closure of the ramp. RCTC will require an extended full closure of the Rancho California Road on-ramp for northbound I-15 beginning on Sunday, July 13 at 9 p.m. through Monday, July 21 at 5 a.m. The closures are required to allow crews to safely extend a second lane of the on-ramp by several hundred feet and create a safety pocket for emergency vehicles.

While crews are completing work on the ramp, motorists are advised to travel west on Rancho California Road, northbound on Jefferson Avenue, and east on Winchester Road to enter Northbound I-15.

Closure dates are subject to change due to weather, site conditions, construction progress, and other factors.

The work will also involve reconfiguring and realigning the ramp to create a merge point between the loop and the direct on-ramps for Rancho California Road. Later this summer, RCTC will require a similar closure of the northbound 15 Rancho California Road loop on-ramp.

The Smart Freeway Pilot Project will use ramp meters that work as a coordinated system that adapts to allow more or fewer vehicles to enter I-15 at any given time from the Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road, and Winchester Road on-ramps. The project is anticipated to improve overall traffic flow and reduce rear-end collisions within the I-15 corridor, without highway expansion and related construction costs and impacts.

For more information about the Smart Freeway Pilot Project and the Temecula Parkway on-ramp closure, visit: rctc.org/temeculaclosures

On June 16, 2025, the City of Temecula, RCTC, and project partners gathered to celebrate the completion of Phase 2 of the French Valley Parkway Improvements Project.

The I-15/215 junction serves as a vital connection for Riverside County and the greater southern California region. This junction connects travelers from San Diego and beyond and is a vital lifeline for residents of Temecula and Murrieta. As southwest Riverside County continues to grow, the I-15 corridor and ramps have become increasingly congested, but relief is on the way.

Phase 2 of the French Valley Parkway Project addresses a major traffic bottleneck on northbound I-15 between Winchester Road and I-15/215 by constructing a concrete barrier to separate highway and on-ramp traffic. It features new dedicated ramps for motorists entering northbound I-15, including a new bridge overpass for direct access to I-215, which eliminates troublesome merging and weaving.

For nearly 20 years, RCTC prioritized funding for the French Valley Parkway Project, recognizing the project’s pivotal role in alleviating congestion in the region. RCTC allocated $47 million in State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding for this project, one of the largest such allocations for a project.

Looking to the future, Phase 3 of the French Valley Parkway Project is a cornerstone of RCTC’s Traffic Relief Plan – a regionwide transportation improvement blueprint aimed at enhancing mobility across Riverside County. Partners in the region are working to start construction on future phases of French Valley Parkway to further alleviate traffic congestion. Phase 3 includes construction of the full-width of French Valley Parkway between Jefferson Avenue and Ynez Road, including the bridge overcrossing of I-15, and connecting on-ramps to the new dedicated on-ramps constructed in Phase 2. Phase 4 will construct a new northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramps for the French Valley Parkway interchange, and new dedicated ramps along southbound I-15.

RCTC is also working on additional improvements along the I-15 Corridor in Temecula and Murrieta with the construction of the I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project – a first of its kind in California. Completion of Phase 2 of the French Valley Parkway Improvements Project, along with planned future improvements along this busy corridor, demonstrate how local and regional agencies are working collaboratively to improve Riverside County mobility for all residents.

For more information about this project, please visit: TemeculaCA.gov/FVP

New Year, new construction project. RCTC, in partnership with Caltrans, the city of Temecula, and the Western Riverside Council of Governments, broke ground on the innovative I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project on January 6. When completed, the I-15 Smart Freeway system will be the first of its kind in California with the goal to improve traffic flow on northbound I-15 from the San Diego/Riverside County Line in Temecula to the I-15/I-215 Interchange in Murrieta.

During construction, crews will make updates and improvements to the northbound I-15. These upgrades include the construction of ramp entrance lanes, installing sensor technology, and enhancing ramp meters that will communicate with each other. This intercommunication between ramps will optimize entrance onto the freeway. To safely make these improvements, crews will require nighttime lane and ramp closures during construction.

Work to complete the project is anticipated to take 9 months and when complete, RCTC and Caltrans will activate the technology portion of the project for a two-year pilot period. This pilot period will allow time to evaluate the success of the project. Ramp metering technology will continuously monitor and adjust to real-time traffic conditions across three ramps. Tire-level sensors will track car volumes and as vehicles enter the freeway, the on-ramp meters at Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road, and Winchester Road will work as an integrated system to optimize incoming traffic flow on I-15. A system of algorithms and specialized teams will monitor on-ramp queues for back-ups, and if needed, the system will increase cycle speed to release more cars onto the freeway to avoid backup onto local streets.

The public can track the results on a dashboard posted at Smartfreeway.org during the pilot period. This project is an innovative solution to reducing traffic across our region that differs from costly, difficult-to-implement highway expansion projects.

Smart Freeway systems have successfully reduced travel time, accidents, and greenhouse gas emissions across various parts of Australia. The Smart Freeway system has also been tested in Denver, Colorado, with the pilot period completed in July 2022. That project was successful, and the State of Colorado seeks to make it permanent.

For more information about the Smart Freeway Pilot Project and to sign up for construction updates, please visit www.rctc.org/projects/smart-fwy-pilot/

The I-15 is a major lifeline for residents and commuters across southern California – connecting cities, major job hubs, cultural centers, and recreational areas. Residents of Temecula and nearby communities experience some of the highest traffic volumes along this corridor, but a recently completed project aims to make travel in this region a little bit easier. On October 1, 2024, the City of Temecula cut the ribbon on the I-15 Congestion Relief Project designed to improve operations and safety on a heavily congested segment of northbound I-15.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) approved $3.5 million in Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) funding that helped make the $4.4 million project possible.  

The project constructed a new 1.5-mile auxiliary lane on northbound I-15 between the Temecula Parkway on-ramp and the Rancho California Road off-ramp. This auxiliary lane allows motorists to get on and off I-15 with minimal disruption on the four general purpose lanes. This new lane will help improve traffic flow and safety along the corridor. Retaining walls were also constructed along the east side of I-15 and the undercrossing beneath the Santiago Road bridge was widened as part of the project.

The project was envisioned by a years-long effort by the Move I-15 Through Temecula Valley Regional Task Force – a group consisting of RCTC, elected officials from the region, and various transportation planning agencies that focused on anticipated congestion efforts in the southwestern part of Riverside County. The result of this collaboration paved the way for the I-15 Congestion Relief Project and RCTC’s I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project – which is slated to start construction later this year.

Riverside County’s continued growth underscores the vital need for transportation solutions along the heavily traveled I-15. With the completion of the I-15 Congestion Relief Project, along with planned future improvements along this busy corridor, local and regional efforts are working together to improve the region’s transportation network for our residents.

For more information about this project, please visit: TemeculaCA.gov/CongestionRelief 

Construction is anticipated to begin during the summer this year, and once construction is complete, RCTC will activate the system for a two-year operations pilot.

“Smart” improvements will be made to the 8-mile, non-tolled section of northbound I-15. Improvements include new sensors that sit at tire-level and track the volume of cars on the interstate and ramps. Ramp metering technology will continuously monitor and adjust to real-time traffic conditions as vehicles enter the freeway from the Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road, and Winchester Road on-ramps. This coordinated smart system will work together to control traffic and increase safety within the corridor.

The system will monitor traffic on the northbound I-15 and turn on when congestion builds up in the project area. Once the system turns on, drivers will notice that traffic signals on the Temecula Parkway, Rancho California Road and Winchester Road ramps are activated. The light sequencing will be coordinated between the three ramps to allow cars onto the interstate where gaps open up. The system also monitors the on-ramp car queue of cars on the on-ramps and cycles faster to avoid any backup onto local streets.

Drivers may also notice changeable message signs on I-15 that say, “Slow Traffic Ahead” and will list the real-time recommended speed of traffic ahead to warn drivers to slow down. When traffic is free-flowing again, the ramp signals will shut off until needed again.

What’s next? RCTC will be hosting a series of in-person and virtual community open house meetings for the public to learn more about the project and upcoming construction, with the opportunity to ask questions of the project team.

Interested in learning more about our project? Watch our project overview video.

For more information about the Smart Freeway Pilot Project, please visit  https://www.rctc.org/projects/smart-fwy-pilot/