Temecula Freeway Traffic Expected To Ease With 2 Projects

TEMECULA, CA — Every Southwest Riverside County commuter who travels Interstate 15 through Temecula knows the pain of daily traffic jams. Two projects currently in the works aim to ease motorists' frazzled nerves, and this week the city provided an update.

The largest is the $138 million Phase 2 French Valley Parkway project that involves the construction of two additional northbound I-15 lanes from Winchester Road to the freeway split at Interstate 215.

The project is expected to break ground in mid-2o22 and will ease the daily I-15 "chokepoint," the city said via a video touting major Temecula transportation projects that are planned over the next five years (watch above).

The other project aimed at easing freeway traffic is the I-15 Congestion Relief project that will bring auxiliary lanes to all of Temecula's freeway on- and off-ramps. Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2022.

Other upcoming major non-freeway projects include the Nicolas Road extension that will bring motorists into Wine Country, and the expansion of Diaz Road to four lanes from Rancho California Road to Cherry Street. Construction will begin next year.

The city is also working with Pechanga officials on a "Freeway Beautification" project at the southbound Temecula Parkway/I-15 off-ramp. Landscaping and other features planned at the freeway exit will bring "a strong sense of arrival" to Temecula, according to the city.

The projects are among 92 the city has planned as part of its $700 million five-year Capital Improvement Program budget — the largest in the city's history. Twenty-four percent of the funding comes from the city; 76 percent is made up of state and federal grants as well as developer fees, according to the city.