Dear Gov. Newsom: Riverside County's Traffic Nightmare Is Urgent

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — After California Governor Gavin Newsom and Nevada Governor Steve Sosolak announced plans earlier this month to expand Interstate 15 near their states' border to alleviate jams for Las Vegas visitors, Riverside County took notice.

"What about our freeway woes?" was a common refrain.

The 5-mile I-15 stretch between the Nevada border and the California Department of Food and Agriculture Agricultural Station is federally recognized as an economic lifeline corridor due to its role in the supply chain, and for connecting the economic and tourism hubs of Southern California and Las Vegas, officials said during the Dec. 5 announcement of the freeway expansion.

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Riverside County Transportation Commission Chair Jan Harnik announced Tuesday she sent a letter to Newsom that argued Riverside County traffic should get the same urgent attention.

"Governor Newsom, we need your help in Riverside County to bring congestion relief to our highway system with the same level of commitment and collaborative spirit you brought to the Expansion Project (at the California-Nevada border)," Harnik wrote in the Dec. 9 letter.

Harnik, who also serves as Palm Desert Mayor Pro Tem, pointed out that Riverside County has experienced substantial population growth over the last decade. The burgeoning growth has led to increased freeway tie-ups. But, Harnik said, "Population growth is not the only driver of the region's traffic congestion nightmare."

Riverside County roads move more than just people. "Forty percent of the nation's goods travel through the Inland Empire by truck and train," according to Harnik. "As freight and goods movement accelerate to historic levels to serve the rest of the state and the nation, inland residents are left to compete for limited space on our highway networks. This congestion and corresponding frustration lead to reduced productivity, less time with family, poor mental health, and the worst air quality in the country."

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RCTC is working to deliver a suite of transportation solutions, but progress has been slow, Harnik said.

"Due to underinvestment in our region from state and federal governments, we are still programming and constructing projects that were promised to voters 19 years ago," she said.

Harnik reminded the governor of recent multi-million-dollar infrastructure investments that RCTC has undertaken in an attempt to provide congestion relief along the I-15 corridor in Riverside County.

"Earlier this year, RCTC completed the $472 million I-15 Express Lanes project, adding two express lanes to I-15 in both directions, from State Route 60 to Cajalco Road in Corona. Part of the project's overall goal was to reduce traffic congestion. While the project alleviated congested bottlenecks, other chokepoints were not relieved, particularly to the south," Harnik wrote.

The RCTC is also working to bring daily passenger rail service between the Coachella Valley and Los Angeles, Harnik told the governor.

The proposed 144-mile rail service is estimated to cost $1 billion, and "RCTC cannot
deliver this and other transformational projects like it without state investments at levels this region has never seen before," Harnik said.

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"Riverside County’s longstanding congestion issues are not unlike those at the California-Nevada border," Harnik continued. "What sets our region apart though, is the millions of Californians who live and work right here, and the state and national economies that hang in the balance as this vital freight and goods movement gateway sinks further into dysfunction.

"As Chair of RCTC, I truly appreciate all the help we have received from the state thus far," Harnik wrote, but she said, "to truly make a difference for our disadvantaged communities and the overall economy and environment, we require your direct attention, collaboration, and investment."

Read Harnik's full letter here.