Final Piece Of 'Sorely Needed' I-15 Bypass Approved

TEMESCAL VALLEY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday signed off on a $6.77 million contract with an engineering firm to handle the final segment of an expansion of Temescal Canyon Road between Corona and the Temescal Valley, part of what Chair Karen Spiegel called a "sorely needed" Interstate 15 bypass.

"We really need these lanes expanded," Spiegel said ahead of the 5-0 vote. "This is a very old county road. There are so many problems with Interstate 15 being shut down. I'm strongly supporting this."

The contract with Fresno-based NCM Engineering Corp. paves the way for the firm to initiate environmental impact studies as the county Transportation & Land Management Agency starts eminent domain negotiations with area property owners to facilitate the final part of the Temescal Canyon Road Widening Project.

"It's an important project, and we're working aggressively to get it out to the public," TLMA spokesman Mark Lancaster told the board.

Two segments of the two-mile expansion were completed last year, leaving only the remaining quarter-mile area between El Cerrito Road to the north and Cajalco Road to the south to be added, according to officials.

The ultimate goal is for Temescal Canyon to serve as a five-mile, four-lane overflow corridor for I-15, or what Spiegel termed a "bypass," which motorists are already using as an escape route when the freeway is jammed or closed between Corona and Lake Elsinore.

"All that traffic gets clogged," the chair said. "It can't just stop because of one thing."

The longtime Corona resident said she hoped the project could be expedited for the sake of commuters.

"It's sorely needed," she said. "I'm a big cheerleader to get us working with the state to put money into the project. I'm working to look in every nook and cranny for funds."

The county has relied on county gas tax revenue, developer fee revenue and a federal grant to fund the project.

In addition to expanding the route from two to four lanes, TLMA intends to add sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

Supervisor Jeff Hewitt wondered whether some of the roughly 100 property owners with whom the county must still negotiate to complete the widening project might balk at the county's offer for their parcels, delaying the project.

Lancaster said that remains a possibility. If all goes well, however, he expected construction to get underway in four years.