Mid County Parkway, Irvine Corona Expressway

[Interstate Trav]

I was wondering, assuming that the ICE gets built (long shot I know) and it then connects to the Mid Valley Parkway and goes all the way to hwy 79 in San Jacinto, why not have it an extension of the 22 freeway.  I mean well the tunnel would be a toll, but geographically I have looked at many maps and it seems like a logical connection for the 22 freeway.  What are your thoughts?

[Bigmikelakers]

I have always said that they should extend the 22 into the Inland Empire via tunnel. For starters they could extend it out to the 241/261 interchange then have it tunnel straight through the Santa Ana Mountains. Once over the mountains, it would hit the 15 around Cajalco Rd. It could then follow Caljalco Rd all the way to CA 79 in San Jacinto then turn northwards to meet up with the 60/10 Interchange in Beaumont. Is the Mid Valley Parkway pretty much that route?

[Interstate Trav]

I have always said that they should extend the 22 into the Inland Empire via tunnel. For starters they could extend it out to the 241/261 interchange then have it tunnel straight through the Santa Ana Mountains. Once over the mountains, it would hit the 15 around Cajalco Rd. It could then follow Caljalco Rd all the way to CA 79 in San Jacinto then turn northwards to meet up with the 60/10 Interchange in Beaumont. Is the Mid Valley Parkway pretty much that route?

You know thats funny, that is actually exactly how I pictured the 22 getting extended.  I mean it fits perfectly, and rather then create another highway it's just using an existing one.  I hope thats how they approach it.

Yes thats pretty much the route, except it ends at the 79 near San Jacinto.  since they haven't picked the exact path yet I'm not sure exactly where it intersects with the 79, but I think it's supposed to be near the Ramona Expressway.

[FreewayDan]

I was wondering, assuming that the ICE gets built (long shot I know) and it then connects to the Mid Valley Parkway and goes all the way to hwy 79 in San Jacinto, why not have it an extension of the 22 freeway.  I mean well the tunnel would be a toll, but geographically I have looked at many maps and it seems like a logical connection for the 22 freeway.  What are your thoughts?

The "Mid Vally Parkway" that you're referring to is actually called the "Mid County Parkway".  It was supposed to start at I-15 south of Corona and head east to I-215 and continue east toward Route 79 in San Jacinto.  But due to environmental and community issues along the western half of it, its western terminus is now proposed to be at I-215.

http://www.midcountyparkway.org/default.asp?link=12

As for the Irvine-Corona Expressway, that project is now being shelved: 

http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-08-27/cities/24630025_1_tunnel-project-riverside-orange-corridor-authority-tunnel-concept

In earlier plans for it, the western teminus of the expressway was to have been at the 133/241 interchange.  This meant that Route 133 would have been extended to I-15 near Corona.

Route 22 was proposed to extend east of Route 55 out to Orange Park (near the 241/261 interchange).  It basically would have followed Chapman Avenue (Route S-25). 

[Bigmikelakers]

The "Mid Vally Parkway" that you're referring to is actually called the "Mid County Parkway".  It was supposed to start at I-15 south of Corona and head east to I-215 and continue east toward Route 79 in San Jacinto.  But due to environmental and community issues along the western half of it, its western terminus is now proposed to be at I-215.

Geez, if these same anti freeway people were around 40-50 years ago, there would be no freeways at all. I wonder what were the environmental and community issues that they speak of.

[Interstate Trav]

I was wondering, assuming that the ICE gets built (long shot I know) and it then connects to the Mid Valley Parkway and goes all the way to hwy 79 in San Jacinto, why not have it an extension of the 22 freeway.  I mean well the tunnel would be a toll, but geographically I have looked at many maps and it seems like a logical connection for the 22 freeway.  What are your thoughts?

The "Mid Vally Parkway" that you're referring to is actually called the "Mid County Parkway".  It was supposed to start at I-15 south of Corona and head east to I-215 and continue east toward Route 79 in San Jacinto.  But due to environmental and community issues along the western half of it, its western terminus is now proposed to be at I-215.

http://www.midcountyparkway.org/default.asp?link=12

As for the Irvine-Corona Expressway, that project is now being shelved: 

http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-08-27/cities/24630025_1_tunnel-project-riverside-orange-corridor-authority-tunnel-concept

In earlier plans for it, the western teminus of the expressway was to have been at the 133/241 interchange.  This meant that Route 133 would have been extended to I-15 near Corona.

Route 22 was proposed to extend east of Route 55 out to Orange Park (near the 241/261 interchange).  It basically would have followed Chapman Avenue (Route S-25). 

My bad, I know it's the mid County Parkway, it's just in the Coachella Valley they have a 'Mid Valley Parkway' and I always mix up the two names.

Really an extension of route 133?  If the Mid county Parkway was to be built then the 133 North-South wouldn't work.

I had a feeling that the tunnel would get shelved.  My Cousin actually knew one of the contractors who bid on the Irvine Corona Expressway.

Assuming they ever do build it, and it's looking less and less likely, why wouldn't they just extend route 22, is what I wonder. 

Also I did hear that the current one is going to just go to the 215, but I also read that there are still plans to eventually extend it further west, they just focused on the eastern half first to try to speed up the process.

[Interstate Trav]

The "Mid Vally Parkway" that you're referring to is actually called the "Mid County Parkway".  It was supposed to start at I-15 south of Corona and head east to I-215 and continue east toward Route 79 in San Jacinto.  But due to environmental and community issues along the western half of it, its western terminus is now proposed to be at I-215.

Geez, if these same anti freeway people were around 40-50 years ago, there would be no freeways at all. I wonder what were the environmental and community issues that they speak of.

Can you imagine Southern California, with out the freeway system.  As bad as traffic is now, thats a scary thought.  I wonder how they got passed all of that and built as many as they did.  I mean if today they were to try to build the interstate system in California, imagine how difficult it would be.

[andy3175]

Resurrecting the Mid County Parkway thread ...

http://midcountyparkway.org/ - current project webpage

The Mid County Parkway is a proposed 16-mile transportation corridor that will relieve traffic congestion for east- west travel in western Riverside County between the San Jacinto and Perris areas and help address future transportation needs through 2040.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC), the agency responsible for transportation in Riverside County and the administrator of Measure A (Riverside County's 1/2 cent sales tax for transportation), has completed the environmental studies for the modified alternatives for the Project. ...

The Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS (RDEIR/SDEIS) evaluating the modified alternatives from I-215 to SR-79 was prepared and circulated for a 75 day public review period in January 2013 and a public hearing was held in February 2013. Revised sections of Chapter 4 of the RDEIR/SDEIS were prepared and circulated for a 45 day public review period in January 2014. Electronic copies of both documents are available on this website under "Library/Links."

Following completion of the public review of the RDEIR/SDEIS the Final EIR/EIS was prepared and finalized with concurrence from all the agencies (FHWA, Caltrans, USACE, USFWS, USEPA, and CDFW) involved in the MCP project. The Final EIR/EIS includes responses to comments on the January 2013 RDEIR/SDEIS, the January 2014 revised sections of Chapter 4 of the RDEIR, and identifies the preferred alternative.

On April 15, 2015, FHWA as the lead agency under NEPA approved the Final EIS and, following a 30-day review period of the Final EIS from April 24 - May 26, 2015, approved the Record of Decision (ROD) for the MCP Project on August 17, 2015. ...

On August 26, 2015 a Notice of Limitation on Claims under NEPA was published in the Federal Register. ...

Now that the ROD is approved, the project can begin the Right of Way Acquisition and Plans, Specification & Estimates (PS&E) Phases.

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/mid-county-parkway-01-22-2016.html - second lawsuit against project

Conservation groups today filed a second legal challenge to a massive $1.7 billion freeway project in Southern California that would cut through low-income neighborhoods, threaten wildlife preserves and worsen air pollution. The six-lane “Mid County Parkway” would bisect the San Jacinto Valley, paving the way for more sprawl and traffic in a rural area with a combination of agriculture, open space and wildlife preserves.

“This project will waste taxpayer dollars to destroy neighborhoods and wildlife areas with a polluting new freeway,” said Jonathan Evans, legal director of the Environmental Health program at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There are smarter, safer and cheaper 21st century transit solutions to solve existing traffic problems. This will just drive future gridlock.”

The Mid County Parkway would force up to 396 residents from their homes and displace businesses that employ more than 170 people. The environmental review notes that the chosen route “would result in the highest impacts to residential relocations in areas with minority and low-income populations.”

“The Mid County Parkway would worsen our region’s struggling air quality and tear up neighborhoods with a permanent new source of diesel exhaust and soot,” said George Hague of the San Gorgonio chapter of the Sierra Club. “Instead of this wasteful new six-lane freeway, the county should be proposing cleaner and cheaper upgrades to the Ramona Expressway to improve traffic safety.”

http://www.pe.com/articles/project-767174-san-jacinto.html (article on first lawsuit from May 2015)

Environmental groups have gone to court to fight a proposed $1.7 billion freeway they say would cut through low-income neighborhoods, threaten wildlife areas and worsen air pollution.

A lawsuit filed last week seeks to block construction of the Mid County Parkway, a 16-mile, six-lane freeway from the 215 in Perris east to the 79 in San Jacinto. ...

Widening the Ramona Expressway would be a cheaper and less environmentally destructive alternative, the lawsuit states. ...

The lawsuit, filed May 7 in Riverside County Superior Court, alleges that the project violates the California Environmental Quality Act. The state law requires the agency to take steps to reduce “significant impacts” related to climate change and air pollution, the lawsuit states. The groups says all work on the project should be stopped until changes are made to comply with the law.

http://www.pe.com/articles/lawsuit-792446-san-county.html (article on second lawsuit from Jan 2016)

A second lawsuit has been filed to block construction of a $1.7 billion freeway between Perris and San Jacinto.

The lawsuit filed Friday, Jan. 22 in federal court is against the Federal Highway Administration. The plaintiffs are the Center for Biological Diversity; the Sierra Club; the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society and Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley.

The earlier lawsuit, filed in Riverside Superior Court in May 2015, lists the county Transportation Commission as the defendant.

Both lawsuits seek to prevent the Mid-County Parkway from being built. The 16-mile, six-lane route from Interstate 215 in Perris to Highway 79 in San Jacinto is meant to relieve traffic congestion by providing another east/west route through the heart of Western Riverside County.

Environmentalists contend the parkway will lead to more sprawl and traffic, threaten wildlife preserves and cause more air pollution. In 2015, transportation officials said the first lawsuit was without merit.

http://www.pe.com/articles/county-785596-riverside-parkway.html - article from Nov 2015 stating that Mid County Parkway was supposed to be longer

About 10 years ago, a 32-mile freeway linking the San Jacinto Valley to Interstate 15 took shape as a way to improve east-west traffic flow in Riverside County’s growing midsection and provide an alternative to going through Riverside en route to Highway 91.

Today, the Mid-County Parkway has been cut in half and won’t reach I-15, if it’s built at all. And Riverside city officials worry about the future of efforts to ease congestion that snarls the 91 and clogs city streets. ...

On Nov. 3, the council formally asked the county to keep in its general plan a road corridor that served as a precursor to the Mid-County Parkway.

“Not extending the corridor beyond the 215 will absolutely put all of that traffic on our roads going through Riverside,” Councilman Mike Soubirous told his colleagues. “If they take this off the map ... we're in a deep mess.”

Bruce Colbert, executive director of the Property Owners Association of Riverside County, said abandoning the original concept for an alternate corridor to the 91 would be disastrous. Without adequate relief, traffic jams on the 91, like the one that broke out Sept. 16 due to emergency repairs, will happen daily, he said. ...

The Mid-County Parkway, which dates back to at least the mid-2000s, was supposed to stretch from Highway 79 in San Jacinto to I-15. But mounting opposition from environmentalists, as well as a projected $3 billion price tag, convinced the transportation commission to scrap the segment running west of Interstate 215 to I-15.

Today, plans call for a 16-mile parkway with a projected cost of $1.7 billion. The commission approved the parkway’s environmental impact report in April, but the project faces a court challenge from environmental groups.

In lieu of a longer parkway, the commission, a panel of elected officials which serves as the county’s transportation-planning body, put its faith in a county plan to improve a 16-mile stretch of Cajalco Road from Perris to Corona. Those improvements, which would widen the road from two to four lanes between I-15 and I-215, are in the planning stages.

[andy3175]

Map of proposed route for the Mid County Parkway (Riverside County), which is only currently proposed between I-215 and SR 79:

[SimMoonXP]

Awesome map. Wondering about the route number for that segment from I-215 to CA-79. Could be CA-315 or I-315 due California doesn't have any routing number for "315" yet.

[Desert Man]

Yeah, it's possible: a freeway from I-405 in Garden Grove/Seal Beach (currently ends at CA 55 in Orange/Santa Ana) all the way to San Jacinto/Hemet if you include the proposed 8-mile tunnel under Santiago Mountains from Irvine (CA 241) to Corona (I-15). Caltrans evaluates the tunnel project and they're concerned of active seismic fault lines under the mountains could cause major damage. The route should be numbered CA or I-315, because the route connects with I-15 and I-215. 

[mrsman]

I have always said that they should extend the 22 into the Inland Empire via tunnel. For starters they could extend it out to the 241/261 interchange then have it tunnel straight through the Santa Ana Mountains. Once over the mountains, it would hit the 15 around Cajalco Rd. It could then follow Caljalco Rd all the way to CA 79 in San Jacinto then turn northwards to meet up with the 60/10 Interchange in Beaumont. Is the Mid Valley Parkway pretty much that route?

You know thats funny, that is actually exactly how I pictured the 22 getting extended.  I mean it fits perfectly, and rather then create another highway it's just using an existing one.  I hope thats how they approach it.

Yes thats pretty much the route, except it ends at the 79 near San Jacinto.  since they haven't picked the exact path yet I'm not sure exactly where it intersects with the 79, but I think it's supposed to be near the Ramona Expressway.

I see value in extending the 22 to meet with 241/261, even if it doesn't extend any further east.

[mrsman]

The "Mid Vally Parkway" that you're referring to is actually called the "Mid County Parkway".  It was supposed to start at I-15 south of Corona and head east to I-215 and continue east toward Route 79 in San Jacinto.  But due to environmental and community issues along the western half of it, its western terminus is now proposed to be at I-215.

Geez, if these same anti freeway people were around 40-50 years ago, there would be no freeways at all. I wonder what were the environmental and community issues that they speak of.

There really weren't so many environmentalists back then.   Even many liberals like Gov. Pat Brown were very strong public works types and largely supported freeways as a way to increase economic development.  Sure, certain corridors were unpopular even then (San Francisco), but as far as ordinary neighborhoods in ordinary cities, the freeways basically plowed right through during the 50s and 60s.

[Occidental Tourist]

I have always said that they should extend the 22 into the Inland Empire via tunnel. For starters they could extend it out to the 241/261 interchange then have it tunnel straight through the Santa Ana Mountains. Once over the mountains, it would hit the 15 around Cajalco Rd. It could then follow Caljalco Rd all the way to CA 79 in San Jacinto then turn northwards to meet up with the 60/10 Interchange in Beaumont. Is the Mid Valley Parkway pretty much that route?

You know thats funny, that is actually exactly how I pictured the 22 getting extended.  I mean it fits perfectly, and rather then create another highway it's just using an existing one.  I hope thats how they approach it.

Yes thats pretty much the route, except it ends at the 79 near San Jacinto.  since they haven't picked the exact path yet I'm not sure exactly where it intersects with the 79, but I think it's supposed to be near the Ramona Expressway.

I see value in extending the 22 to meet with 241/261, even if it doesn't extend any further east.

There's value, but nobody will ever let them use eminent domain through Peters Canyon to complete the route.  The homeowners there have too much political clout.  It would be the same stalemate as with South Pas and the 710.

[Desert Man]

There's another proposed (yet scrapped) highway in CA meant to cross a mountain range: the Trans-Sierra highway project began during governor Pat Brown, promoted by Ronald Reagan and rejected under Jerry Brown's first 2 terms in office. The Trans-sierra highway would start in Friant north of Fresno and ends in Mammoth on the other side of the Sierra Nevada. It doesn't need a tunnel, the route would followed the San Joaquin River north fork, a pristine area of wilderness and environmentalists put an end to the project plan.

Back on topic: environmentalists take issue with a proposed highway under a mountain range (the Santiago Mountains) although it's underground, and safety experts worry about seismic fault lines (I mentioned this in an earlier post) can produce a major earthquake which can cave in the tunnel. The project includes a Metrolink train track in between the lanes, an alternative mode of transporation and there are modern train tunnels under miles of mountains in Switzerland and Japan, so this isn't the only one of its kind.

[Rothman]

The Trans-sierra highway would start in Friant north of Fresno and ends in Mammoth on the other side of the Sierra Nevada.

Bulldoze right through Devils Postpile NM?  Ick.