I-15 Exit Ramps At Clinton Keith Getting Wrong-Way Driver Prevention

WILDOMAR, CA — In an effort to prevent wrong-way driver crashes on Inland Empire freeways, Caltrans District 8 has identified priority exit ramps that need attention, and Clinton Keith Road at Interstate 15 in Wildomar is on the list.

On Tuesday, the north- and southbound Clinton Keith Road offramps will be closed at I-15 so that Caltrans crews can install wrong-way prevention "enhancements," according to the state agency.

Enhancements on other offramps across the state have included LED flashing signs and one-way pavement markings, as well as red reflectors that are visible only to wrong-way drivers. Monitoring systems that take pictures of wrong-way drivers to quickly alert Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have also been installed in some areas.

According to Caltrans District 8, the state agency is investing $1.3 on wrong-way driver projects across Inland Empire freeway offramps.

On Monday, the following Interstate 215 offramps will also be closed for the wrong-way prevention work: Nuevo Road, the Ramona Expressway, and Harley Knox Boulevard.

Crews will also be working Monday at other IE offramps along the I-215 and I-15, as well as along Interstate 10, state Route 60, state Route 91, Interstate 40, and state Route 210, but no additional offramp closures were announced.

During the offramp improvement work, signs will be posted alerting motorists to closures and/or construction ahead.

Wrong-way incidents are far less common than other freeway crashes but they tend to be head-on, leaving people severely injured or dead, according to California Highway Patrol data. Preliminary data from the CHP for 2021 shows that, statewide, 182 injury crashes were caused by wrong-way drivers.

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