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:
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