Say Goodbye To Baxter Road In Wildomar: I-15 Exit Getting Renamed

WILDOMAR, CA — A familiar Wildomar street is getting a name change, one that local officials hope will raise awareness of Southwest Riverside County's newest city.

Baxter Road is being renamed Wildomar Trail, which will help pinpoint the city for the millions who travel the I-15 corridor in Southern California, according to officials.

"'Where is Wildomar?'" is a question all too familiar to its residents and businesses," according to a news release from the city. "Nestled in between Lake Elsinore and Murrieta and only 11 years old, this fantastic city is getting ready to let the world — or at least Interstate 15 travelers — know just where Wildomar is."

Caltrans is in the process of updating and installing new freeway signs on the 15 Freeway, from Rainbow Valley Boulevard (just south of Temecula) through Wildomar. Part of the process will include the new Wildomar Trail signage.

Kimberly Davidson, city of Wildomar's economic development director, said Caltrans has not provided a completion date to the city, but she confirmed the work is currently underway along the I-15, south of Wildomar.

The name change has been a long time in the making, and the timing of its execution could not be better, according to the city.

The cost of the freeway signs alone was going to set Wildomar back more than $300,000, but by coordinating with the Caltrans schedule, the city was able to get the signs created and replaced at no charge.

“Timing is everything,” said Wildomar Mayor Dustin Nigg. “This change will really help to put
Wildomar on the map, literally, and at a very minimal cost to the city.”

But the Baxter renaming process affects five contiguous, differently named streets within Wildomar. Anyone who has exited Baxter Road from the I-15 — especially heading west — understands just how much of maze it can be.

Heading west on Baxter from the 15, the roadway forks — veering left takes commuters to Central Street; a slight right keeps them on Baxter. Heading eastbound from the freeway, Baxter dead-ends at Porras Road, which to the south becomes George Avenue and then Shopping Center Drive.

City officials decided to combine all five of the streets into a single name — Wildomar Trail — that will take people from one end of the city to the other.

To make it happen, the city was able to obtain a $14,500 grant from Public Agency Risk Sharing Authority of California. The city has spent $19,000 from its general fund on the project, according to the news release.