On the Road in Southern California: A Review of Major Projects and Priorities

By Greg Aragaon

SANBAG
The San Bernardino Association of Governments is in the detailed-design stage of a $376 million project to improve Interstate 215 in San Bernardino. The 6-mi. project consists of adding both northbound and southbound carpool lanes from just north of Interstate 10 to State Route 30, widening bridges and reconstructing interchanges. The project will also provide for an additional mixed-flow lane in each direction along this stretch. An auxiliary lane will be constructed in each direction between 5th Street and the State Route 259 split. Design should be final by early 2004, with construction beginning in mid-2004 and completing in 2007. The project is a joint venture between SANBAG and Caltrans and will be financed by a combination of federal, state and Measure I funds.

Elsewhere, work on the final 8 mi. of the $1.1 billion 210 Foothill Freeway extension began in September of last year, with the construction of frontage roads in Rialto. SANBAG and Caltrans will start construction on bridges and drainage systems in Rialto and San Bernardino in May.

Much of the freeway will be constructed below the existing street grade, in a depressed configuration, to make the freeway less visually obtrusive. An aesthetic enhancement plan has been developed with local communities to provide attractive design treatments including cobblestone facing on retaining walls and bridges.

The entire 210 extension will cover 28.2 mi. and traverse the cities of La Verne, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Rialto and San Bernardino. In August 2001, 6 mi. of the new freeway opened between Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana. Another 14 mi. opened between La Verne and Rancho Cucamonga on November 24, 2002. The new project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006 or early 2007.

“SANBAG has an ambitious set of construction projects planned for the next two years, so the state’s budget crisis could not have come at a worse time,” said Norm King, SANBAG executive director.

“The extension of State Route 210 and improvements to Interstates 10 and 215 are essential for moving people and goods through our region. The funding picture, however, looks pretty bleak. We are doing everything we can to keep these projects on track, including working with Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to secure the necessary funds. Our half-cent transportation sales tax—Measure I—is providing the local dollars for these projects, so we are desperately in need of state and federal funds to make these transportation improvements a reality.”

Caltrans District 8 (San Bernardino)
The Interstate 15 High Desert Widening Project, a three-phase, design-sequencing project to broaden 28 mi. of Interstate 15 between the cities of Victorville and Barstow, is now underway. The $160 million project will widen the four-lane interstate to six lanes and offer a potential to build-out to eight lanes.

Design sequencing is a new application that brings a project to construction while it is still in the design phase, said Anne Mayer, District 8 director. Construction may begin when the design is approximately 30-percent complete. The ultimate goal of design sequencing is to deliver the final product sooner (anywhere from six months to a year).

Construction began last spring on the first phase, the widening of the southbound lane, and is expected to be finished this summer. Phase 2—a new mixed-flow northbound lane—is scheduled to begin this spring. It is scheduled for completion in fall 2004.

The final phase of the project will reconstruct the D Street and E Street interchanges in Victorville. The final phase is slated to start in winter 2004 and be complete in summer 2007.

“These improvements will benefit the trucking industry in the movement of goods. In addition, they provide a more efficient drive for the over 8 million annual visitors to the Las Vegas area from Southern California,” Mayer said.

Caltrans District 11 (San Diego)
“We have a record amount of highway construction in the region with nearly $1 billion of work underway,” said Pedro Orso-Delgado, director of District 11.

Statewide, an average of 1 in every 5 mi. of state highway are under construction. At $375 million, the construction of the Interstate 15 managed lanes will be the most costly project in the works this year for the district. The project will be constructed under five separate contracts and will build a set of four freeway lanes in the median of the existing freeway for use primarily by carpools, vanpools and transit riders.

A moveable concrete barrier will allow the number of lanes available to commuters to be changed to match the commute direction. Currently, about 280,000 vehicles per day use portions of this corridor and another 100,000 vehicles per day are expected in less than 20 years.

Construction of the I-15 managed lanes is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2008. Some interim improvements are expected to be open in 2006. Project partners include Caltrans, the San Diego Association of Governments and the Metropolitan Transit Development Board.

A $181.9 million improvement to the Interstate 5/Interstate 805 interchange began in March 2002. The project will construct a separate freeway bypass system parallel to the I-5 main lanes separated by a concrete safety barrier and widen I-5 to 12 lanes between Carmel Valley and Del Mar Heights roads. Freeway shoulders will also be widened at the I-5/I-805 junction and two-lane direct connectors at the I-5/I-805 junction will be built there. A new interchange at Carmel Valley Road is also part of the project.

Completion of the northbound improvements is expected in summer 2005 and the remainder of the project in early 2007. Project partners include Caltrans, SANDAG and the city of San Diego.

Caltrans District 12 (Irvine)
“We face significant financial challenges, and no one knows at this time how they will affect specific projects,” said Cindy Quon, District 12 director.

“We will work with our regional transportation partners and the California Transportation Commission to prioritize projects so we can keep the most critical projects moving forward.”

The $53 million Interstate 405/State Route 73 Improvement Project is a key part of the Orange County freeway system and is designed to improve traffic flow in a 2.5-mi. section of the I-405/SR-73 interchange.

Funded primarily by the State Transportation Improvement Program, the project adds a new separate off-ramp from the northbound SR-73 to Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard, improves on- and off-ramps at Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Road, adds a new on-ramp to Northbound I-405 at Hyland Avenue and includes new sound walls throughout the project.

The current cost for the I-405 work is $43,066,118. The cost for the SR-73 work is $10,050,000 for a total of $53,116,118.

The I-405 portion started in January 2000 and will be completed by mid-2004. The SR-73 segment started in May 2002 and will be completed this summer. Plant establishment is extended for one year past the completion dates on both projects.

Key members of the project team along with Caltrans are the Orange County Transportation Authority and the city of Costa Mesa.

The biggest project currently on the drawing board at District 12 is the $300 million widening of State Route 22.

Currently under environmental review by the Federal Highway Administration, the project is expected to begin in early 2004 and end in early 2007.

Caltrans District 7 (Los Angeles)
The largest construction project currently underway in District 7 is the $87.3 million widening of the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10) through the cities of Pomona and Claremont to construct a HOV lane in each direction, from the I-10/State Route 57 separation to the San Bernardino County line.

The project is expected to decrease congestion and vehicle emissions and enhance safety in this highly traveled, high-growth corridor. Work began in January 2001 and will be complete in August.

The largest project currently on the drawing board for this year in the district involves constructing HOV lanes on the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) in both directions from the Marina Freeway (State Route 90) to I-10. The $86.3 million project will be advertised this summer and is scheduled for completion in summer 2006.

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