91 Express Lanes

[theroadwayone]

Last night I went with some friends for a quick trip to Joshua Tree. Going there and back, I got a look at the new 91 Express lanes. Apologies for there being no pictures, but I have an impression they've done a lot in that part. Next time I'm there, if it's during the day, I'll get some pictures. That said, any ideas as for what's next for that corridor or is that it for now?

[AsphaltPlanet]

I uploaded a video of the 91 Express Toll Lanes a few weeks ago.  The video was filmed back in April, 2017 shortly after this was taken:

[theroadwayone]

I uploaded a video of the 91 Express Toll Lanes a few weeks ago.  The video was filmed back in April, 2017 shortly after this was taken:

Nice

[theroadwayone]

I uploaded a video of the 91 Express Toll Lanes a few weeks ago.  The video was filmed back in April, 2017 shortly after this was taken:

Nice. That's what I saw last night, except during the day.

[AsphaltPlanet]

I think they did a pretty good job with it.  The flyover ramp that links the 91 Express Lanes to the 15 Freeway south is pretty impressive in my opinion.

[bing101]

Nice ride on the 91 freeway!

[sparker]

Since there's been quite a bit more commuter traffic heading south on I-15 over the last fifteen years or so, the toll-lane connection is way overdue!  I wouldn't be surprised to see similar toll lanes all the way down to Murietta deployed in the next 10 years! 

[Plutonic Panda]

I think they did a pretty good job with it.  The flyover ramp that links the 91 Express Lanes to the 15 Freeway south is pretty impressive in my opinion.

Great footage! Your videos and freeway Jim are among my favorite freeway tour vids. Keep up the good work!

[jrouse]

Last night I went with some friends for a quick trip to Joshua Tree. Going there and back, I got a look at the new 91 Express lanes. Apologies for there being no pictures, but I have an impression they've done a lot in that part. Next time I'm there, if it's during the day, I'll get some pictures. That said, any ideas as for what's next for that corridor or is that it for now?

There are no further improvements planned on 91.  But there are plans to build express lanes on I-15 down to Cajalco Road south of 91 and up to State Route 60.  Some preliminary work has started on this project with the major widening work starting this summer.  This project may include direct connectors from the 91 express lanes onto the northbound I-15 express lanes and from the southbound I-15 express lanes to the westbound 91 express lanes.  I don't believe a final decision has been made on that yet.

[cahwyguy]

This probably deserves some updates:

In February 2018, it was reported that RCTC officials still feel that fixes are needed in the Route 91 corridor. An additional westbound freeway lane, from Route 71 Freeway to Route 241, was one solution presented in mid-February 2018 to the Riverside County Transportation Commission. Corona Mayor Karen Spiegel and a few other commission members cited that option as one worth exploring to deal with back-ups on Route 91 and nearby city roads that have left some commuters frustrated. Since the toll lanes opened in March 2017, they've been used by 1.2 million vehicles – about 40 percent more than the agency projected – a report to the commission states. That's 37,893 vehicles on an average day. That figure has resulted in $22.1 million in toll revenue – about $15.5 million more than the agency anticipated. The project has reduced congestion during many times of the day on the heavily-traveled corridor. However, there are some "hot spots"  at which motorists continue to face congestion, including the entrance to the toll lanes on westbound Route 91, past McKinley Street, and the northbound I-15 Freeway connector to westbound Route 91 entering the toll lanes. One of the worst is westbound Route 91 from Route 71 going past Green River Road and toward the Orange County line. During the morning commute, 1,800 to 2,000 vehicles an hour are entering the westbound Route 91 from Route 71 and Green River. As a result, Green River – which connects to Route 15 through the Foothill Parkway – has seen vehicles backing up for a mile or two on weekday mornings, residents say. The additional lane – which would be added by converting the existing right-hand shoulder pavement – is one of six options for the Green River corridor. Others included adding the lane for a shorter distance, moving the toll lane entrance and exits further east, converting the toll lane exit and entrance into a continuous weaving lane and turning off the metering ramp at the Green River entrance. For northbound I-15, the two proposed solutions were extending the toll lanes further south and adding a second entrance to the toll lanes.
(Source: Press-Enterprise, 2/14/2018)

In May 2018, it was reported that the Riverside County Transportation Commission approved in a near-unanimous vote environmental studies and design work for adding a general-purpose westbound lane on Route 91, stretching from Green River Road to Route 241 in Orange County. The panel intends to reconvene in the fall to decide whether to move forward with construction of the new lane, expected to cost $30 million to $50 million and take two and a half years to build.
(Source: Press Enterprise, 5/9/2018)

In March 2018, it was reported that the CTC awarded $50 million in state funds to launch environmental studies that will set the stage for building tolled express lanes on I-15 between Cajalco Road in Corona and Route 74 in Lake Elsinore, a news release reports. Those studies are expected to take five years to complete. The grant is contingent on the recent state gas-tax increase remaining in place, the news release stated. The project would extend lanes that are under construction now in a 15-mile segment between Cajalco Road and Route 60.
(Source: Press Enterprise, 3/23/2018)

In March 2018, it was reported that the CTC awarded $2.9 million to the I-15/Railroad Canyon Road interchange in Lake Elsinore.
(Source: Press Enterprise, 3/23/2018)

In May 2018, it was reported that the Riverside County Transportation Commission approved in a near-unanimous vote lengthening by one mile the northbound I-15 toll lanes – which begin at Ontario Avenue now – and creating a continuous lane for entering and exiting the Route 91 toll lanes at the Riverside-Orange county line (these would now start around Foothill Parkway).
(Source: Press Enterprise, 5/9/2018)

[sparker]

The item concerning the modification of the I-15/Railroad Canyon interchange is of interest, as plans dating back several years utilized part of Railroad Canyon as a southern reroute of CA 74 via Menifee and the Domengoni Parkway around the south side of Winchester and Hemet; the facility was to be partially expressway (i.e., the existing Domengoni Parkway alignment) and partially multi-lane arterial through Menifee before extending west to I-15.  The purpose of the exercise was to remove as much through traffic as possible from West Florida Street (present CA 74) from Perris to east of Hemet; also tying into the CA 79 reroute, taking that route off downtown Hemet streets as well.   The I-15 interchange revision may well be the first phase of the western reaches of that project, which has been in the works for over 25 years.  If anyone in that area has any additional information regarding all this, please chime in!

[cahwyguy]

If it was from a CTC award, you should be able to find more information in the CTC minutes and the meeting background material. I haven't gotten to that point yet. If I find more information, I'll be editing it into the page (especially maps -- I love maps). Depending on where they are in the project, there might be a draft EIR with information.

[theroadwayone]

I'm aware of some Mid-County Expressway that's supposed to be built from I-215 in Perris to CA 79 near San Jacinto or thereabouts. Anything else people can find on it?

[cahwyguy]

I'm aware of some Mid-County Expressway that's supposed to be built from I-215 in Perris to CA 79 near San Jacinto or thereabouts. Anything else people can find on it?

It's the mid-county parkway. I've got a big discussion of it on my route 79 page: https://www.cahighways.org/073-080.html#079

[sparker]

I'm aware of some Mid-County Expressway that's supposed to be built from I-215 in Perris to CA 79 near San Jacinto or thereabouts. Anything else people can find on it?

It's the mid-county parkway. I've got a big discussion of it on my route 79 page: https://www.cahighways.org/073-080.html#079

When I was living in Redlands ('04-'09) there was a lot of discussion going on about just what was probably going to happen with Hemet and vicinity due to the fact that the area was growing by leaps and bounds not only as a more affordable housing location but its increased attractiveness as a retirement area (relatively benign climate, especially when compared to the Coachella Valley area to the east).  Interestingly, there's a partial undivided extension of the Ramona Parkway circling around the northeast corner of Hemet (it's broken up into segments connected by local streets); apparently the plans were to build this out as a combination expressway/multilane arterial and take it down to CA 74 east of town and close to where that route began its climb up into the San Jacinto mountains.  South of Hemet was the Domengoni Parkway, which was configured as a divided expressway with no private access and periodic signalized intersections; it extends E-W from south of town over toward CA 79 near Winchester.  Preliminary discussions included making the combination Ramona/Domengoni configuration into a large backward "C", with its apex at CA 74; the notion was to disperse through CA 74 traffic onto both the south (Domengoni) and north (Ramona) bypasses of Hemet and convey through traffic west to I-215.  One of the objects of this exercise was the rerouting of CA 74 over one of the two bypass legs; the south leg was considered the most likely to bear that designation.  This leg would have included a bypass of Menifee; the residents in that area quickly objected to (a) having their business areas bypassed and (b) expressway construction adjacent to newly established residential tracts.  It would have actually passed just north of the town of Menifee and cut through a corner of Sun City, the longstanding retirement community along I-215 south of Perris; when the operators of Sun City joined in the objections, the plans were altered to simply dump out Domengoni traffic onto the multilane Menifee Road arterial; the only additional construction required with this change was the modification of the I-215/Menifee Road interchange to accommodate the projected additional traffic flow.  At present, the Domengoni/Menifee continuum is in place, with the east end at Riverside County route R3 south of central Hemet.  Plans to continue the parkway east and north to CA 74 have been put on hold; any plans for the rerouting of CA 74 over that facility were dropped when the Menifee portion was downgraded to an arterial. 

Right now any developmental emphasis is on the N-S CA 79 facility; any plans for a revised CA 74 routing (it still goes right through the middle of downtown Hemet) will likely depend upon the final configuration of 79 -- with the possibility of using an expanded Ramona loop northeast of Hemet as the eastern part of a bypass loop and a multiplex with 79 back to its original alignment north of Winchester completing the arc around the north side of town.  It's highly unlikely that the planned Ramona expressway through the north side of Perris will be considered as a CA 74 alternate routing, as that corridor is considered a MPO project rather than one initiated and planned by Caltrans. 

Ever since I was a UCR student in the late '60's (fun times?!), plans for the Hemet/Perris Valley area have been forwarded and just as quickly shot down; it seems regardless of the route or facility configuration, every variation seems to piss off one party or another until the options are winnowed down to effectively zero!  The area is still growing at a rapid pace, but even attempting to deploy a simple expressway runs into both figurative and literal roadblocks at every turn.  And the more territory that's developed the more the NIMBY's come out of the carpet.  The area seems to have become the poster child for how not to plan or deal with growth and sprawl.  It'll be interesting to see if anything actually materializes regarding the CA 79 freeway/expressway plans; if it's actually built in the next 15-20 years that in itself will be a miracle!   

[theroadwayone]

I'm aware of some Mid-County Expressway that's supposed to be built from I-215 in Perris to CA 79 near San Jacinto or thereabouts. Anything else people can find on it?

It's the mid-county parkway. I've got a big discussion of it on my route 79 page: https://www.cahighways.org/073-080.html#079

When I was living in Redlands ('04-'09) there was a lot of discussion going on about just what was probably going to happen with Hemet and vicinity due to the fact that the area was growing by leaps and bounds not only as a more affordable housing location but its increased attractiveness as a retirement area (relatively benign climate, especially when compared to the Coachella Valley area to the east).  Interestingly, there's a partial undivided extension of the Ramona Parkway circling around the northeast corner of Hemet (it's broken up into segments connected by local streets); apparently the plans were to build this out as a combination expressway/multilane arterial and take it down to CA 74 east of town and close to where that route began its climb up into the San Jacinto mountains.  South of Hemet was the Domengoni Parkway, which was configured as a divided expressway with no private access and periodic signalized intersections; it extends E-W from south of town over toward CA 79 near Winchester.  Preliminary discussions included making the combination Ramona/Domengoni configuration into a large backward "C", with its apex at CA 74; the notion was to disperse through CA 74 traffic onto both the south (Domengoni) and north (Ramona) bypasses of Hemet and convey through traffic west to I-215.  One of the objects of this exercise was the rerouting of CA 74 over one of the two bypass legs; the south leg was considered the most likely to bear that designation.  This leg would have included a bypass of Menifee; the residents in that area quickly objected to (a) having their business areas bypassed and (b) expressway construction adjacent to newly established residential tracts.  It would have actually passed just north of the town of Menifee and cut through a corner of Sun City, the longstanding retirement community along I-215 south of Perris; when the operators of Sun City joined in the objections, the plans were altered to simply dump out Domengoni traffic onto the multilane Menifee Road arterial; the only additional construction required with this change was the modification of the I-215/Menifee Road interchange to accommodate the projected additional traffic flow.  At present, the Domengoni/Menifee continuum is in place, with the east end at Riverside County route R3 south of central Hemet.  Plans to continue the parkway east and north to CA 74 have been put on hold; any plans for the rerouting of CA 74 over that facility were dropped when the Menifee portion was downgraded to an arterial. 

Right now any developmental emphasis is on the N-S CA 79 facility; any plans for a revised CA 74 routing (it still goes right through the middle of downtown Hemet) will likely depend upon the final configuration of 79 -- with the possibility of using an expanded Ramona loop northeast of Hemet as the eastern part of a bypass loop and a multiplex with 79 back to its original alignment north of Winchester completing the arc around the north side of town.  It's highly unlikely that the planned Ramona expressway through the north side of Perris will be considered as a CA 74 alternate routing, as that corridor is considered a MPO project rather than one initiated and planned by Caltrans. 

Ever since I was a UCR student in the late '60's (fun times?!), plans for the Hemet/Perris Valley area have been forwarded and just as quickly shot down; it seems regardless of the route or facility configuration, every variation seems to piss off one party or another until the options are winnowed down to effectively zero!  The area is still growing at a rapid pace, but even attempting to deploy a simple expressway runs into both figurative and literal roadblocks at every turn.  And the more territory that's developed the more the NIMBY's come out of the carpet.  The area seems to have become the poster child for how not to plan or deal with growth and sprawl.  It'll be interesting to see if anything actually materializes regarding the CA 79 freeway/expressway plans; if it's actually built in the next 15-20 years that in itself will be a miracle!   

Someone's gotta tell those people to get a grip. I don't know if that'll go down well, but that's my $0.02.