Riverside County supervisors signed off Tuesday on an agreement with Caltrans for the county Transportation & Land Management Agency to manage a nearly $50 million interchange improvement project in Eastvale.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the Board of Supervisors authorized TLMA to take the lead on the Limonite Avenue/Interstate 15 Interchange Project, which has been in the works for the last five years and is scheduled to break ground next summer.
TLMA has been the principal agency behind the project, handling the design, land acquisition and other elements and will now oversee the construction phase.
The cities of Eastvale and Jurupa Valley have deferred to the county in all matters concerning the Limonite Avenue/I-15 Interchange reconfiguration, which received the go-ahead after Senate Bill 132 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in April.
SB 132, part of the divisive legislative package that paved the way for gas tax and vehicle license fee hikes that take effect next month, allocated $48 million for the interchange improvement.
The current interchange is comprised of a four-lane bridge, with two lanes entering and exiting both the north- and southbound sides of I-15 at Limonite. The redesign calls for an eight-lane overcrossing, consisting of four separate on- and off-ramps, including two loop ramps, which TLMA says will ease traffic congestion and improve the quality of life for local residents and businesses.
“Freeway travel will be improved due to the reduced congestion at the ramp intersections on Limonite Avenue,” according to a TLMA statement.
The freeway and Limonite will remain open for the duration of the project, though periodic temporary closures and detours may be necessary, according to transportation officials.
There was no estimate on when the project will be finished.
–City News Service