I-215 widening from I-10 to Highway 30 gets boost (SB SUN 050506)

I cannot wait for the completion of this construction. Every time I take the I-215 Either S/B in the Morning or N/B in the Afternoon we are waiting in the long line of cars... It takes four to eight times as long as it normally takes to drive the same distance when there is light traffic. So anything will help. I cannot wait!!!

BSRancher

I-215 widening from I-10 to Highway 30 gets boost

Andrew Silva, Staff Writer

Jammed with creeping commuters every weeknight, Interstate 215 finally has most of the money needed for a major widening project in San Bernardino. The California Transportation Commission voted Thursday to continue funding it. "We're thrilled we're getting closer to starting work on the 215," said Cheryl Donahue, spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, or Sanbag, the county's transportation agency. The improvement would be from Interstate 10 to Highway 30. The state commission approved about $9.3 million in new money for San Bernardino County projects. The money comes from the five-year State Transportation Improvement Program, which is funded largely by gasoline taxes. Just as important, the commission renewed its commitment to spend $200.2 million for the I-215 project. The freeway will be widened from six to 10 lanes, including a car-pool lane and a fourth regular lane in each direction. "I think it'll be awesome," said Steve Henthorn, president of the San Bernardino Visitors and Convention Bureau. "Fixing those ramps will bring us into the current century." "Those ramps" are the nerve-rattling fast-lane on-ramps and off-ramps that make driving the freeway a real adventure. The freeway modifications will also open easy access to San Bernardino's largely minority Westside. When the freeway was built in the mid-20th century, engineers tried to avoid conflicts with the railroads and deal with limited space by running the off-ramps to the east, isolating the Westside. Residents there have long seen that as an example of a racial injustice that prevented economic growth. The six-mile project is expected to cost $600 million, which will be covered with state money, federal money and funds from Measure I, the half-cent sales tax for transportation projects that in 2004 county voters agreed to continue paying for another 30 years. Motorists could see work begin late this year or early next year with construction of a new Fifth Street bridge, expected to take about 2.5 years to complete. Work on the freeway itself is scheduled to begin in spring 2007 on the 2.4-mile stretch from Interstate 10 to just south of Rialto Avenue. That section will also include new bridges at Inland Center Drive and Mill Street. It's expected to take until about 2010 to finish that part of the project. Beginning in Spring 2008, the 1.1-mile length from Rialto Avenue north to Ninth Street will get under way and will include new bridges at Second and Third streets. That section will take until fall 2011 to complete. The 1.3-mile stretch to the north, due to be under construction by spring of 2009, will feature new bridges at Ninth Street, Base Line and 16th Street. The split where the freeway runs to Highway 30 will also be redone, carrying the project to 2013. The final section is the one that remains unfunded, but the state commission said it will receive priority in future funding cycles. New bridges at Massachusetts Avenue and Highland Avenue will highlight the last 1.2-mile segment of the expansion up to Highway 30. Other projects approved on the state list include: $15.4 million to widen Highway 138 from Interstate 15 to the Los Angeles County line. $23.5 million to widen northbound I-15 in Victorville. $33 million for connecting ramps between the Interstate 210 extension and I-215. $15.3 million for recreation and aesthetic projects, including the Santa Ana River trail, the Pacific-Electric trail, the Rim of the World trail, the Riverwalk trail, and landscaping on interstates 10, 210 and 215.