Temecula Western Bypass

[andy3175]

http://www.pe.com/articles/road-675915-ambient-bypass.html

Temecula city leaders have long envisioned a ribbon of asphalt running along the base of the hills to the west of Old Town, opening up a new corridor of commerce and communities: The Western Bypass.

This road would give motorists access to homes in De Luz, workplaces in the business parks off Rancho California Road and provide another north-south option during rush-hour conditions on Interstate 15.

For years it seemed like a vague possibility, something that might happen in 10 or 15 years.

Ambient Communities hopes to do it much, much sooner.

The San Diego company early this year bought 270 acres of land west of Old Town and started talking about plans for an interconnected series of villages that would add around 2,000 dwelling units, space for a hospital or university and a high-tech elementary school. Plans are expected to be submitted to the city later this year. ...

As originally sketched out, the Western Bypass was going to go from Temecula Parkway via a new bridge over the Murrieta Creek, travel behind business parks along the hillsides and connect with Winchester Road.

Butler said the city recently modified that proposed route so that the bypass runs from Temecula Parkway to Vincent Moraga Drive and, eventually, Diaz Road. The bypass now will utilize a widened Diaz Road, which already connects with Winchester.

The route modification, Butler said, will lower the cost of the project significantly and free up regional transportation infrastructure dollars that can be spent elsewhere. In addition, if there is development near the site of the proposed water park at Diaz Road and Dendy Parkway, Diaz could be extended to Cherry Street, which is being reconfigured as part of the French Valley Parkway project.

[sdmichael]

I don't see how adding more traffic to the already clogged 79S/15 Interchange would help matters. It might help local circulation but not by a whole lot.

[silverback1065]

I don't see how adding more traffic to the already clogged 79S/15 Interchange would help matters. It might help local circulation but not by a whole lot.

Ya adding more homes and businesses will do the opposite of making traffic better.

[Desert Man]

In the last 3 decades, Temecula grew from a town with something like 1,000 residents to a suburb of L.A/SD to have 150,000 residents. The intense suburbanization of the Inland Empire region kinda bothers me, because you have less open space and farmland, which is said to be a draw to newcomers fleeing congested, polluted cities. Temecula has became more affluent, so expect home prices to increase more than it has.

[JustDrive]

I used to be able to make it from Temecula to SD in about an hour. Now it takes me that long to get to Escondido.

[nexus73]

Menifee (the city just north of Temecula) used to be a black dot on an atlas map.  Now it has mushroomed and gobbled up everything around it.  If you folks want to see what Temecula looked like in the mid-Sixties, watch the first episode of the TV show "The Invaders".  A shot at the end of the show lets you see the spur that connected Temecula to US 395.  A quaint small town in the middle of nowhere and mostly empty countryside has been overrun with people!

Rick

[Desert Man]

Yes nexus, massive numbers of people from the urban coasts, other states and from Mexico among many nations in the Temecula area. The influx of people moving there and across CA seems to never end. Temecula attempted a new NFL coliseum for the Chargers, but the project didn't pass and also the city council didn't approve of a new amphitheater facility. I knew the Pechanga casino resort is a big draw to Temecula on the Indian reservation.

[andy3175]

Menifee (the city just north of Temecula) used to be a black dot on an atlas map.  Now it has mushroomed and gobbled up everything around it.  If you folks want to see what Temecula looked like in the mid-Sixties, watch the first episode of the TV show "The Invaders".  A shot at the end of the show lets you see the spur that connected Temecula to US 395.  A quaint small town in the middle of nowhere and mostly empty countryside has been overrun with people!

Rick

Big changes indeed. Now you can drive up 215 and pass from incorporated city to incorporated city almost without breaks: Murrieta, unincorporated area, Menifee, Perris, Moreno Valley, Riverside. I remember a time when much of this stretch of 215 had far less development. Now 215 is three lanes in each direction (once the Perris bypass segment is upgraded). 15 also has more cities along its route than it did historically (adding places such as Wildomar, Eastvale, and Jurupa Valley along its path in the past decade or two).

[nexus73]

To me it came as a shock to see how much had gone on when my friend and I passed through there in 2013.  My previous time there was 1976.  Sun City, remember that?  Perris was just another small town.  Where I-15 and I-215 join today had been built as a 6-lane freeway which shortly petered out into a 2-lane road and the next section of 4-lane heading south was in Escondido. 

Another surprise: Seeing downtown Lake Elsinore still looking like a time capsule from 40 years ago.  There is a rundown bar there called "The Wreck".  My friend used to know some people in that town and drink there back in the day. 

Thank you Andy and Mike for your responses!

Rick

[Henry]

It's always great to see a road plan on its way to being realized. Temecula needs this very badly.