Page 1 - The Friday Flyer ● JUNE 8, 2018
P. 1
CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • JUNE 8, 2018
Perfect weather kicks off Taco Firefi ghters respond Canyon Lake Little
to structure fi re on League season comes
Tuesdays at lodge Pg. A3 Old Wrangler Rd. Pg. A4 to an end Pg. A18
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE
The overhaul of the Interstate 15 and Railroad
Canyon Road Interchange Project is now fully
funded and moving toward construction.
Funding secured for I-15/Railroad
Canyon interchange overhaul
BY DONNA RITCHIE continuous growth in the area and can council. Lake Elsinore studied and considered
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER no longer adequately serve the commu- In September, RCTC also approved several alternatives and has decided to
The overhaul of the Interstate 15 nity. $2.9 million of 2018 State Transporta- proceed with Alternative 2 for this phase
and Railroad Canyon Road Interchange Last month, the CTC approved 2.7 tion Improvement Program funding for of the project.
Project is now fully funded and mov- billion in grants for the 64 projects the construction. Meanwhile, the City of Lake Elsinore
ing toward construction. The California statewide from the Road Repair and “This project now has full construc- is preparing to start the extension of
Transportation Commission (CTC) ap- Accountability Act of 2017, known as tion funding, and we’re ready to move Camino del Norte, which intersects with
proved the final piece of funding needed the transportation infrastructure gas tax forward,” said City Engineer Brad Main Street north of the I-15/Main junc-
for construction at its meeting May 16. bill (Senate Bill 1). This includes $15 Fagrell. tion. The extension will connect Main
Regional planners conceived of the proj- million toward construction of the first The City of Lake Elsinore initiated Street and Railroad Canyon Road with-
ect 18 years ago. phase of the I-15/Railroad Canyon Road the project in April 2000. In 2004 and out requiring motorists to use the free-
2005, interim improvements were made way.
and Franklin Interchange Project.
The project will result in several ma-
The second phase, slated for devel-
“Our plan is to have this project com-
to the interchange to improve opera-
jor changes to the current interchange, opment in approximately 2035, would tion and circulation. The City of Lake plete before we start this interchange
including widening Railroad Canyon create a new interchange near Franklin Elsinore has been working with RCTC improvement,” said Fagrell. “It is essen-
Road under the freeway, expanding Street between Railroad Canyon Road and Caltrans to expedite the project tial to create an alternate route to reduce
the southbound entrance ramp to three and Main Street to the northwest. since October 2013. impacts of the Railroad Canyon project
lanes, adding a northbound deceleration The $15 million award will be supple- Construction at the interchange during construction.”
lane and installing northbound “hook” mented by $17 million from the West- should begin by 2020 and be completed The I-15/Railroad Canyon junction
on and off ramps connecting to Grape ern Riverside Council of Governments in 2022; however, an initiative petition experiences the heaviest traffic during
Street, which is parallel to I-15’s north- Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee is currently in circulation to repeal the school and rush hour traffic when ve-
east side and intersects with Railroad program, completing the acquisition of taxes and fees. If the initiative petition hicles often back up from traffic signals
Canyon Road. the $35 million needed to construct the qualifies for the ballot and its approved onto freeway lanes. On the opposite side
The Railroad Canyon Road and I-15 project. by a majority of voters, the I-15/Rail- of the freeway, Railroad Canyon Road
Interchange is a significant regional “It’s finally happening and relief is road Canyon Road interchange project, becomes Diamond Drive, conveying ve-
transportation corridor that serves the on its way,” said RCTC Commissioner as well as other projects funded by this hicles to Lake Elsinore’s lake, the Lake
cities of Canyon Lake, Menifee, Lake and Lake Elsinore City Councilmember source, will have insufficient funding to Elsinore Casino and The Diamond sta-
Elsinore and the County of Riverside. Bob Magee “I’ve worked for years on be completed. dium.
This interchange has faced increased the transportation commission to obtain The project is currently in the Plans, For more information on the I-15/
traffic congestion and unnecessary de- funding for this project,” said Magee, Specifications, and Estimate and right- Railroad Canyon project, visit lake-el-
lays for travelers for many years due to who is now in his fourth term on the of-way acquisition phase. The City of sinore.org/rrcyninterchange.