The Point: Project will improve safety, capacity, traffic flow for growing area

With one year of construction completed, the I-15 Railroad Canyon Road Interchange project remains on track to open in late 2022.  RCTC is upgrading the interchange in partnership with Caltrans and the City of Lake Elsinore.

During the first year of work, crews added auxiliary lanes to northbound and southbound I-15, widened and reconfigured the ramps, and made local street improvements to accommodate the interchange.  The northbound hook off-ramp at Railroad Canyon Rd. is nearing completion and crews have built two new retaining walls along the future ramp.  Crews also completed the retaining wall on the south side of Railroad Canyon Rd. to stabilize the soil beneath I-15 for construction and poured concrete for the bridge support along northbound I-15.

Project improvements are focused on safer and more efficient travel through the heavily traveled interchange. Guardrails are in place along the I-15 shoulders to enhance motorist safety, and new traffic signals on local roadways are improving safety and traffic flow.  Crews also have striped more than 90,000 feet of roadway with wider, more visible striping and markers, a benefit for drivers and pedestrians.

“RCTC is excited to have reached this one-year milestone, with the support of Caltrans and the City of Lake Elsinore,” said RCTC Chair and Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem Jan Harnik.

“This project is one of six that RCTC has actively under construction in western Riverside County and reflects the continued investment in our transportation infrastructure as we battle traffic congestion and work to improve mobility for our residents.”

Additional first-year achievements include building more than 30 drainage systems with 4,200 feet of pipe in the project area. Crews also added cosmetic touches, such as red stamped concrete on the newly rebuilt Grape St. median, and installed irrigation for future landscaping.

Like Lake Elsinore’s motto, “Dream Extreme,” the team reached some “extreme” facts and figures:

Sign up for email construction updates at RCTC.org/railroadcanyon.  Be in the know by texting RAILROAD to 772-22 and receive text updates on the go. Follow us on social media @railroadcanyon for the latest news and photos.

The Point: Crews making good progress, despite winter rains

With a year of construction under their toolbelts, the Riverside County Transportation Commission’s Route 60 Truck Lanes project team is looking ahead to roadway paving.

During the first year, crews focused on excavating the steep hillsides through the Badlands between Moreno Valley and Beaumont, moving nearly 1.5 million cubic yards of dirt within the project limits, about 70 percent of the total to be excavated. From August to March, one westbound lane was fully closed to allow crews to safely excavate the dirt.

Other Year 1 highlights include placing 5,000 feet of pipe for drainage systems and completing the first of three stages to build 20-foot by 20-foot wildlife crossings beneath the roadway.

The work was completed in conjunction with heavy rainstorms last winter that caused roadway damage, requiring ongoing repairs on both eastbound and westbound Route 60. Barring any substantial weather delays, the new lanes are expected to open in 2022.

With the hillsides significantly cut back, there is now space to build the new truck lanes, which will stretch 4.5 miles from Gilman Springs Road to 1.4 miles west of Jack Rabbit Trail. Crews have placed sub-base material for the westbound lanes and are preparing to place hot-mix asphalt and then concrete pavement this summer.

A weekend full closure of westbound Route 60 may occur in July or August to prepare for a traffic shift; please watch for details. Following the traffic shift, work will begin in the highway median, and then later on the eastbound lanes.

The team and the San Gorgonio CHP remind motorists to follow the 55 mph speed limit and to watch for changing conditions.

Stay connected to project updates through social media (@60trucklanes) and sign up for construction updates at rctc.org/60trucklanes.