Work by Riverside County Transportation Commission on Highway 60 running between Moreno Valley and Beaumont, often reached by motorists from Hemet and San Jacinto up Highway 79, is primarily complete except for some landscaping and slope work.
Some lane closures have been experienced in the evenings but the highways remain open for travel. The improvements have improved auto traffic up and down the highway with the added truck lanes completed. RCTC recently reported in partnership with the California Department of Transportation, it has widened a 4.5-mile section of Route 60 from Gilman Springs Road to 1.4 miles west of Jack Rabbit Trail in Riverside County’s Badlands between Moreno Valley and Beaumont.
The project was within mountainous terrain with a curving alignment and steep grades. The project was designed to improve safety and efficiency of travel between the Coachella Valley and western Riverside County. Another improvement that has helped is the widening, repaving and added reflective paddle boards separating lanes on Gilman Springs Road as an alternative for local traffic to reach Moreno Valley and Riverside. Those changes, with added k-rail lane separations on Highway 79 (Lamb Canyon) and the Gilman Springs paddle board lane separations are reported to reduce the number of fatal head on and serious injury accidents in the area.
The CHP still warns that high speeds on those highways are still a problem causing serious accidents that can be prevented by obeying the electronic and stationary speed signs along the highways.
Caltrans reports the following projects are underway in the Southwest Riverside Area.
Menifee and Murrieta
Caltrans is alerting the public that construction will be taking place near the city of Menifee and city of Murrieta in Riverside County. Weather permitting.
Daytime work is scheduled from Monday to Friday, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., with shoulder closures in effect. Commuter access will remain available. Crews are scheduled to work on both the South-Bound and North-Bound directions of Interstate 215.
The project aims to improve road surface, update shoulder rumble strips, enhance culverts, upgrade guardrails, stabilize slopes, and boost highway worker safety along the stretch near Murrieta, from 1 mile north of Clinton Keith Road to 1 mile north of Newport Road. Next week, construction crews will undertake various tasks such as clearing the roadside, improving landscaping, replacing chain-link fences, excavating for rock blankets, and completing additional assignments.
This week there will be rock blanket work at Scott Road. Work also continues on both northbound and southbound I-215 between Clinton Keith Road and McCall Boulevard, covering postmiles R12.51 to R20.842. Despite the shoulder closures, commuter access remains open.
Lake Elsinore
Caltrans has nearly completed maintenance sweeping on Interstate 15 From Temecula to Lake Elsinore. Caltrans still alerts the public that Corona maintenance crews will perform routine sweeping operations on Interstate 15 Weather permitting. Work will occur from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The planned work and moving closure locations are northbound and southbound I-15 from Riverside/San Diego County line to Nichols Road in Temecula and back. The sweeping operation will focus on the right shoulders and center medians.
Hemet
Caltrans is still working on State Route 74 (SR-74 and Florida Ave.), in Hemet. The,Work is occurring both during the day and night. The latest work is in the downtown Hemet area on Florida Ave. with curb and gutter improvements in the Valle Vista area to Fairview Ave.
The work locations on Florida Ave. will vary, including Mountain Ave. (Ramona Expressway) down to Fairview St. Motorists should be alert to Caltrans concrete curb and sidewalk pours. Some lane closures should be expected.
East of Hemet Caltrans crews continue working on the Strawberry Creek Bridge on SR 74 where traffic narrows to one lane with a temporary signal light installed. The work now includes upgrades with slab overlay, new guardrail systems on the bridges, bringing lane and shoulder widths up to current standards.
Please, obey the temporary traffic signal as the highway is cut to only one lane in the construction area.
Aguanga/Anza
Still no work is scheduled this week on the highways in this area, but more work will soon be underway so be alert.
Riverside and San Bernardino
Caltrans is alerting the public that construction will be taking place in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. In Riverside County, on Routes 10, 15, 60, 62, 91, 111, and 215 at various locations; and in San Bernardino County, on Route 215 in Colton at Iowa Avenue.
Daytime work is scheduled through Friday, August 23 between 7a.m. and 3 p.m., with commuter access maintained.
Crews will be working at various locations to upgrade 20 changeable message signs and guardrail shielding, and to construct maintenance vehicle pullouts. Expect shoulder closures. Commuter access will remain open. Watch for signage alerting motorists of shoulder closures. Drivers should anticipate traffic delays and plan ahead.
Tony Ault can be reached via email at tault@reedermedia.com.
