Phase II of the French Valley I-215/I-15 Interchange Improvement Project well underway

Tony Ault

Staff Writer

Motorists on the northbound Interstate 15 just past the Winchester Road onramp and under the bridge in the past few weeks have noticed changes to their driving patterns as construction continues on the French Valley Parkway Phase II improvements that are now underway.

Many motorists using that portion of the northbound freeway may find those changes puzzling, but the changes will be necessary for at least another two years. The purpose is for the city of Temecula to overcome the bottleneck traffic on northbound I-15 between Winchester Road and the I-15/I-215 junction. In this area, the large volumes of vehicles attempting to merge and diverge across four to five lanes of traffic has created a hotspot of congestion and results in back ups into San Diego County ranging from three to 12 miles every weekday and on many weekends, according to Temecula City engineers.

This phase of the French Valley freeway improvement project will eliminate the merging and diverging by installing a concrete barrier and bridge overpass to separate streams of traffic and channelize them based on ultimate destination. These improvements are designed to reduce the congestion that occurs during the evening commute.

The retaining walls are being installed at this time with some as high as 45 feet along the mile and one half stretch of the freeway that is under construction.

“People will just have to get used to it,” Avlin R. Odviar, senior engineer for the Temecula Department of Public Works said in a telephone interview.

Odviar said this phase will eliminate the merging and diverging by installing a concrete barrier and bridge overpass to separate streams of traffic and channel them based on ultimate destination.

To help motorists in their daily commute coming out of San Diego and south Temecula, Odviar and the city Public Works Department has set up links on the city website to keep commuters apprised of the weekly changes taking place and where that construction is located and the times it will be happening.

For more information, visit http://www.TemeculaCA.gov/FVP2. Or, visit the city of Temecula Public Works online, and view I-15 French Valley Parkway Improvements webpage that is complete with days and times the work will be taking place, aerial photos of the project from a airborne drone each month, I-215 switchover alignment where a bridge will be built to the I-15 and other up to date information.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at [email protected].