High Desert Corridor (Palmdale to Victorville frwy proposal)

[Interstate Trav]

Does anyone know if this project will actually happen, or is it like many others just on paper.  

[Bigmikelakers]

Do you mean the 138 Metropolitan Bypass?

[Interstate Trav]

Do you mean the 138 Metropolitan Bypass?

Yes.

[andy3175]

For more on the High Desert Corridor (E-220), see:

http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/30-10_highway/images/high_desert_porridor_project.pdf

http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/dpw/transportation/high_desert_corridor.asp

The High Desert Corridor would connect California 14 near Lancaster-Palmdale with Interstate 15 (and possibly continue east to meet California 18) near Victorville, generally north of and parallel to California 138 and California 18. The SBD County page was created in 2007, but the LA page seems more recent. The completion date seems to be 2020, with EIR by 2013.

The Metro page gives an overview of the type of freeway/expressway envisioned:

"The HDC will construct a new 50-mile east-west freeway/expressway and possible truck toll facility between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The east-west segment would be an eight-lane freeway [including a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction] from SR-14
past the Palmdale Airport to 50th St East along an alignment paralleling P-8 in Palmdale; a six-lane freeway/expressway from 50th St East to 240th St East past the planned Southern California Logistics Airport to I-15."

To see some recent comments on the planned corridor (including some in favor and opposed), see: http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/09/20/high-desert-corridor-a-new-highway-for-north-l-a-county-moves-forward/

Andy

[Bigmikelakers]

Some of the comments from the streetblog:

"What a waste of money. I never understood nor will I ever understand. There is just no reason to waste this money connecting cities that shouldn't even be there."


"Think about the number of bus only lands you could make with $8 billion. Literally, it's close to 400 miles of lanes in each direction."

Adding bus only lanes on LA streets would be next to impossible right? I mean how are they supposed to widen a street like Wilshire Bl for example? What about the residences and the businesses along the route? Are they going to get rid of the sidewalk to make that happen? I'm so tired of these anti freeway people saying that we should use mass transit. This isn't New York.

[NE2]

Freeways, on the other hand, can be built without taking any land...
(Presumably these bus lanes would be for express buses, in the middle of existing freeways.)

[hm insulators]

Once upon a time, the Metropolitan Bypass Freeway was actually slated to start at I-5 at the current interchange with the 138 and run all the way to the 15. What happened to the segment between I-5 and California 14?

[Interstate Trav]

Once upon a time, the Metropolitan Bypass Freeway was actually slated to start at I-5 at the current interchange with the 138 and run all the way to the 15. What happened to the segment between I-5 and California 14?

I'm gonna guess lack of funding.

[FreewayDan]

Public hearings were done earlier this week for the proposed High Desert Corridor.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=8065625

[Interstate Trav]

Public hearings were done earlier this week for the proposed High Desert Corridor.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/inland_empire&id=8065625

Thanks for the article.

[Bickendan]

We could be looking at a reroute of CA 138 in the Antelope Valley somewhere down the line... or an x15 for you Interstate lovers.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (KABC) -- Public hearings are set to get under way on a proposed 63-mile freeway connecting Palmdale and Victorville.

The proposed High Desert Corridor freeway would link the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway to Interstate 15 at Victorville.

The corridor would replace long stretches of routes 18 and 138. The two-lane roads have high fatality rates.

The new freeway's median might also be used for a high-speed rail corridor for trains linking Southern California and Las Vegas.

The public hearings will be held Monday night in Lancaster and Tuesday in Palmdale.

Link: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Finland_empire&id=8065625

[NE2]

The new freeway's median might also be used for a high-speed rail corridor for trains linking Southern California and Las Vegas.

This would be in the right place to connect the state's LA-SF trunk line at Palmdale with the private line to Vegas at Victorville.

[flowmotion]

Bump

The new freeway's median might also be used for a high-speed rail corridor for trains linking Southern California and Las Vegas.

This would be in the right place to connect the state's LA-SF trunk line at Palmdale with the private line to Vegas at Victorville.

Looks like that plan is now official.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/jun/07/desertxpress-inks-deal-add-train-link-victorville-/

[Quillz]

I'm probably wrong, but weren't both the proposed CA-48 and CA-122 supposed to be freeways within the Antelope Valley that connected the two cities?

[bulkyorled]

The sometimes unreliable AV Times paper had a huge article about it one time. The proposal was interesting though. That they strip Palmdale Blvd of the 138 and move it south to around Pearblossom Hwy and go that way east. A western portion would be next to or on top of Ave D where the north section is and the 14 between Barrel Springs Rd and Ave D would be signed as both 14 & 138. I guess that's already technically both but its only signed as 14

[flowmotion]

Given the planned route, it seems very likely the HDC will be signed as CA 18.

http://interactive.metro.net/projects/high-desert-corridor/

(Edit: I had forgotten that CA18 actually starts near San Bernardino and takes an inverse "C"-shaped route through the mountains. Is the existing route signed North-South?)

[TheStranger]

(Edit: I had forgotten that CA18 actually starts near San Bernardino and takes an inverse "C"-shaped route through the mountains. Is the existing route signed North-South?)

From multiple trips along it, Route 18 is barely (if even that) signed at all between the western terminus at Route 138 and I-15, which makes zero sense to me!

[CenVlyDave]

(Edit: I had forgotten that CA18 actually starts near San Bernardino and takes an inverse "C"-shaped route through the mountains. Is the existing route signed North-South?)

From multiple trips along it, Route 18 is barely (if even that) signed at all between the western terminus at Route 138 and I-15, which makes zero sense to me!

As a former resident of Crestline/Lake Arrowhead, I can say that Hwy 18 in the city of San Bernardino and all the way to Big Bear has no directional signs with the shields that are posted along the Rim of the World Hwy or Waterman Ave.  The only mentions of any direction for Hwy 18 I remeber is at the interchange with Hwy 330 in Running Springs, there signs indicate that taking Hwy 18 WEST will go to Lake Arrowhead and Crestline, and Hwy 18 EAST is to be used to go to Arrowbear Lake, Green Valley Lake, Snow Valley, and Big Bear.  I know at the "Interchange" of Hwy 247 in Lucerne Valley, the two hwys never truly intersect, that Hwy 18 is signed as WEST to Apple Valley and Victorville, and East for Big Bear.  Of course, all the directional markings are on signs at interchanges and not along the actual hwy itself.

[andy3175]

The draft EIR for the High Desert Corridor is now on-line at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/HDC/ and with complete list of chapters at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/HDC/HDC_Draft_EIR-EIS/. The page includes a corridor map, and it seems to follow Air Expressway between I-15 and US 395. Comments may be made until Dec 2. From the summary:

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), proposes construction of the High Desert Corridor (HDC) as a new transportation facility in the High Desert region of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The proposed 63-mile-long west-east facility (Figure S-1) would provide route continuity and relieve traffic congestion between State Route (SR) 14 in Los Angeles County and SR-18 and Interstate 15 (I-15) in San Bernardino County. Caltrans is the lead agency for the project pursuant to both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The 10-mile-long Antelope Valley segment would start from a new freeway-to-freeway SR-14/HDC interchange and extend east parallel with and near Avenue P-8 to 100th Street East in Palmdale. The right-of-way (ROW) to be acquired for this segment would accommodate ultimate expansion to four lanes in each direction plus a high-speed passenger rail line. The 26-mile-long High Desert segment would extend from Palmdale to Adelanto, running in a west-east direction parallel and south of Palmdale Boulevard. The freeway would be three lanes in each direction, with ROW acquired to support an ultimate facility of four lanes in each direction plus a high-speed passenger rail line.

The 27-mile-long Victor Valley segment would generally follow the alignment of Air Expressway Boulevard, between Caughlin Road in Adelanto and Dale Evans Parkway east of I-15 in Apple Valley, and continuing southeasterly as an expressway to join SR-18 just east of Joshua Street. The freeway portion of this segment between Caughlin Road and I-15 would be six lanes wide, continuing to Dale Evans Parkway as a four- or six-lane freeway. ROW would be acquired to support a future freeway of four lanes in each direction plus a high-speed passenger rail line.

Highway/Expressway: Caltrans proposes a new freeway/expressway that will environmentally clear up to four lanes of travel in each direction. The number of lanes selected will be based on the traffic analysis. When fewer lanes are initially justified, the ROW will be preserved for a potential future build-out of a four-lane freeway/expressway.

Four build alternatives and the No Build Alternative were selected for evaluation in the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS):

1. The Freeway/Expressway Alternative (four physical variations) would combine a controlled-access freeway and an expressway. The alignment will generally follow Avenue P-8 in Los Angeles County and just south of El Mirage Road in San Bernardino County, then extend east to Air Expressway Road near I-15, and finally curve south, ending at Bear Valley Road. Variations to the general HDC alignment are proposed to minimize environmental impacts (Figure S-2):

- Variation A — Near Palmdale, the freeway/expressway would dip slightly south of the main alignment, approximately between 15th Street East and Little Rock Wash.
- Variation B — East of the county line, the freeway/expressway would flare out slightly south of the main alignment between Oasis Road and Coughlin Road.
- Variation B1 would be at the same location, but it would flare out a little less and pass through Krey Field.
- Variation D — Near Lake Los Angeles, the freeway/expressway would dip south of the main alignment, just south of Avenue R approximately between 180th Street East and 230th Street East.
- Variation E — Near Adelanto and Victorville, the freeway/expressway would dip south of the federal prison.

2. The Freeway/Tollway Alternative would follow the same alignment as the Freeway/Expressway Alternative, but the section between 100th Street East and US 395 would be operated as a tollway. The toll segment would likely be an all Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System. The operation would be completely electronic with no toll booths or traffic gates. Collection of tolls would occur at
the speed of flowing traffic, which means that motorists never have to slow down; therefore, traffic would remain free flowing. Variations A, B, D, and E as described under the Freeway/Expressway Alternative were also considered.

3. The Freeway/Expressway Alternative with HSR [High Speed Rail] Feeder/Connector Service. ...

4. The Freeway/Tollway Alternative with HSR Feeder/Connector Service. ...

5. The No Build Alternative would not provide new transportation infrastructure within the High Desert area to connect Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Only existing SR-138 safety corridor improvements in Los Angeles County and SR-18 corridor improvements in San Bernardino County would be constructed.

Public meetings on the High Desert Corridor draft EIR were held earlier this month:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/LACMTA-Caltrans-to-host-public-hearings-on-High-Desert-Corridor--42501

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will host a series of public hearings this month to receive input on a Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the High Desert Corridor. The hearing dates are Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13.

In addition, LACMTA and Caltrans will accept public comments until Dec. 2 on the document, which studies potential impacts along the 63-mile corridor that connects State Route 14 in Los Angeles County with U.S. Highway 395, Interstate 15 and State Route 18/Bear Valley Road in San Bernardino County.

[andy3175]

According to https://www.metro.net/projects/high-desert-corridor/, the preferred alternative for the High Desert Corridor was selected in July 2015. The following describes the preferred alternative:

The selected PA consists of a Freeway/Tollway with HSR feeder/connector, bike lane, and a green energy generation corridor, with Variations D and B1, details are listed below:

Roadway - The proposed roadway would begin in Palmdale as a freeway, follow Avenue P-8 in Los Angeles County, run parallel to and south of El Mirage Road when entering San Bernardino County, turn east to Air Expressway Boulevard near I-15, transition to an expressway at Dale Evans Parkway, and end at SR-18/Bear Valley Road in the Town of Apple Valley.

Toll - The toll section, if adopted, would begin at 100th Street East in Palmdale and end at US-395 in Victorville.

HSR Feeder/Connector - The HSR Feeder/Connector service would run between the Palmdale Transportation Center and the proposed XpressWest HSR station in Victorville. The planned future passenger rail network would potentially connect San Francisco, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Diego.

HSR Option 1C to the Palmdale Transportation Center - includes underground segments for both northbound and southbound wye connections to avoid conflicts with the Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR), Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) tracks near Sierra Highway, Runway Protection Zones at the Plant 42 facility, and the St. Clair Parkway Section 4(f) open space property in Palmdale.

Alignment Variations selected as part of the PA:

Variation D — located in Lake Los Angeles, will reduce the number of residential displacements and avoid an existing vineyard.
Variation B1 — located in Adelanto, will avoid impacts to several water wells owned by the Phelan Piñon Hills Community Services District.

Multipurpose components selected as part of the PA:

Bikeway- between US-395 and 20th St. East in Palmdale
Green energy production and/or transmission corridor - the project will assume a footprint that can accommodate an energy production and/or transmission facility along HDC.

The green and renewable energy component would contribute to greenhouse gas and energy cost reductions.

The green energy production and transmission facilities would be constructed within the study area footprint.

Currently, the project is in the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report (FEIS/R) Phase, the document is expected to be completed in Spring 2016.

[mapman1071]

I would number the route CA13 or  California 16 

[Quillz]

I'm guessing it will be CA-48.

[Thunderbyrd316]

I would number the route CA13 or  California 16 

Both of these numbers are currently in use. Ca. 13 is the Warren Fwy. East of Oakland and Ca. 16 is a 2 part state highway East and West of Sacramento.

[SimMoonXP]

Or I-515 which correspond to I-15 by California near Apple Valley, California.

[Desert Man]

The 138 freeway proposal needs to be done...to relieve increased traffic on what's currently a 2-lane road. Thomas Bros. maps in the 1970s-90s featured a proposed freeway route named CA 138 starting from I-5 near Gorman to Palmdale, while the current 138 from there to Victorville is the main focus now.

I can name two upgraded highway-to-freeway routes in So CA: the I-215 from Riverside/Moreno Valley to Murrieta/Temecula was upgraded to total freeway status, and the 86 from Indio/Coachella which is still in construction should go all the way to El Centro (I-8) or Calexico (the Mexican border with Mexicali).

And I know of an one-mile long freeway in East Bay the I-238 in Hayward/San Leandro near Oakland, and there's no interstate 38 at all. Will the CA 138 ever be upgraded to I-138? I suppose CA route 14 of Santa Clarita and Lancaster/Palmdale can go to interstate status, like I-14 unless Caltrans has an issue with that.