The Point: Crews have begun work on the I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project on the northbound 15 between Temecula and Murrieta
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/