Pre Construction

The Riverside County Transportation Commission, in coordination with Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Transportation Corridor Agencies, and the City of Corona, is proposing to add a lane to eastbound 91 from the 241 Toll Road connector to Route 71 in Corona. The new lane is intended to help improve traffic operations on eastbound 91, especially during afternoon and evening hours.

This highway segment was included in the 2012 environmental document for the 91 Corridor Improvement Project but was deferred due to funding constraints. RCTC expects to award an engineering and environmental contract in mid-2023 to study four design alternatives. These alternatives will require environmental revalidation and an updated scoping document to identify the preferred alternative. This phase of work is expected to take two to three years.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), in partnership with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), Caltrans, and the City of Perris, is expanding the Perris-South Metrolink Station. This station serves as the end point for the 91/Perris Valley Line, north of Ethanac Road.

The project will add a second passenger loading platform at the station, along with canopies and other passenger amenities. To accommodate the new platform, 1,100 feet of new station track will be added to allow two passenger trains to board and deboard at the same time. This new track will also allow the station to remain operational if a train is out of service on one set of tracks.

The project also includes construction of a fourth track at the Perris-South layover maintenance facility. This will include building new track and installing a new switch for trains to change tracks. This will improve Metrolink service operations and efficiency by allowing more trains to be stored overnight.

RCTC is completing final design for the Metrolink Double Track Project: Moreno Valley-Perris Project between Riverside and Perris. The project will upgrade 6.5 miles of existing freight railroad track to accommodate passenger rail service between the Moreno Valley/March Field Station and the Perris-South Station.

Once completed, the upgraded track will improve the reliability of Metrolink service, offer an alternative to driving, and help relieve congestion on Interstate 215 by providing reliable and efficient transit options for Riverside County commuters, who face some of the longest commutes in southern California. The project also will increase access to jobs and education in this traditionally underserved area, reduce air pollution, and help Metrolink achieve its goal of providing bidirectional service every 30 minutes in time for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.

Construction is anticipated to begin early 2026. The project is a vital component of RCTC’s vision to implement safe multimodal solutions in Riverside County’s rapidly growing communities near Perris. Riverside County is growing faster than any county in California and is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.

The Mid County Parkway is a planned 16-mile transportation corridor between the San Jacinto and Perris areas. This new east-west facility will open economic opportunities, reduce travel times, and expand access to employment and education for residents and businesses of Riverside County. The improvements will promote transportation equity for this long-underserved area and connect to Route 79, Interstate 215, and transit facilities that support Metrolink’s 91/Perris Valley Line and Riverside Transit Agency routes. With this connection, the Perris and San Jacinto communities will have access to multiple modes of travel.

RCTC is working to deliver the MCP in segments. RCTC has partnered with the County of Riverside on final design of the MCP Ramona Expressway, an 8.6-mile segment from approximately one mile east of Rider Street to Warren Road that experiences a high rate of vehicular accidents. The County of Riverside contributed $1 million toward the cost of future construction of this segment. Final design began in September 2022. If funding is secured, construction could begin in early 2026 and take about two years to complete.

The roadway currently has one lane in each direction with a passing lane between 5th Street and Bridge Street. The improvements will provide two lanes in each direction, add a raised median to separate the eastbound and westbound lanes, build a new bridge over the San Jacinto River, modify three intersections with traffic signals, install one new signalized intersection, and construct a wildlife crossing. The improvements are focused on safety and access.

Construction of the Interstate 215 Placentia Avenue Interchange in Perris, the first MCP segment, began in August 2020 and opened in December 2022. RCTC has not determined the timing for construction of additional MCP segments; these contracts will depend upon available funds.

RCTC, in partnership with Caltrans and the City of Temecula is proposing an innovative corridor approach for improved traffic operations on northbound I-15 from the San Diego/Riverside County Line in Temecula to the I-15/I-215 Interchange in Murrieta.

The proposed project will use sensors and “smart” technology to continuously monitor real-time traffic conditions on this eight-mile, non-tolled section of I-15. Severe traffic congestion occurs in this area, due to a high volume of vehicles entering the freeway simultaneously, especially during peak afternoon and evening hours. The project will also 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.

Designed as a two-year pilot project, the project is anticipated to improve overall traffic flow and reduce rear-end collisions by maintaining steady travel speeds within the I-15 corridor, without highway expansion and related construction costs and impacts.

Drivers may initially experience short delays on the on-ramps but will gain overall time savings once on the freeway, with fewer stops and starts.

The Interstate 10 Highland Springs Avenue Interchange Project, informed by preliminary studies conducted in partnership with Caltrans and the cities of Banning and Beaumont, would reconfigure lanes to the I-10 underpass at Highland Springs Avenue and add merging lanes to the ramps to improve traffic flow and safety.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission, in partnership with the California Department of Transportation, has conducted preliminary engineering and environmental studies to develop the Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA) for the proposed Interstate 15 Express Lanes Project Southern Extension.

The proposed project would improve and manage traffic operations, congestion, and travel times along the corridor by extending the I-15 Express Lanes an additional 15.8 miles from El Cerrito Road in Corona, through Temescal Valley, to State Route 74 (Central Avenue) in Lake Elsinore. The project would add two tolled express lanes in both directions within the I-15 median to accommodate increasing traffic volumes in southwestern Riverside County. The project would also add southbound I-15 auxiliary lanes between the Nichols Road entrance ramp and the Main Street exit ramp in Lake Elsinore.

Once built, the project would improve traffic operations and travel times, expand travel choice through carpooling and mass transit, increase travel time reliability, manage long-term traffic congestion, provide a cost-effective mobility solution, and expand and maintain compatibility with the regional Express Lanes network.

Other project features include widening up to 15 bridges, creating multiple express lane entrance and exit points, as well as building noise barriers, retaining walls, drainage systems, and electronic toll collection equipment and signs.

RCTC, in coordination with the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District (Riverside County Parks) and other project partners, is proposing the construction of a 12.8-mile section of the Santa Ana River Trail (SART). When completed, this section will provide a direct trail connection through Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.