Rebuilt Riverside interchange partially opens
The first significant portion of the soon-to-be rebuilt 60/91/215 interchange in downtown Riverside opened this week, bringing some long-awaited relief for locals and commuters alike, many of which have come to despise the antiquated interchange.
Drivers headed toward the interchange from the west – from Riverside, Corona and Orange County – until recently drove almost into the interchange before making a sharp turn on a relatively short connector, which frequently resulted in traffic backing up onto the eastbound lanes of Highway 91.
That has been replaced with a new connector that requires drivers to begin moving out of the busiest lanes of Highway 91 about a half-mile earlier.
Riverside Press-Enterprise – July 19, 2006
The new eastbound connector, though still somewhat temporary in nature, should allow for smoother transitioning from eastbound Highway 91 to eastbound Highway 60/southbound I-215. Re-configuring a portion of the existing eastbound 91 adjacent to the new connector will come next, eventually allowing for the full implementation of the new transition.
When fully completed in late 2007, the interchange will also sport two new freeway-to-freeway connector ramps, auxiliary lanes and a wider main line allowing for future carpool/lane additions.
Also included in the overall $320 million project are major improvements on the 60/215 portion between downtown Riverside and Moreno Valley, with new bridges, improved access to UC Riverside, carpool lane extensions, and an eastbound truck-only lane.
Though partially delayed due to initial funding obstacles and rising costs, the downtown interchange project was one of the key elements of a half-cent sales tax/transportation improvement package (Measure A) that Riverside County voters overwhelmingly approved (79%) in 1988 and extended an additional 30-years (69%) in 2002.
No doubt, residents old and new alike will be glad to finally see the end is nearing for ‘malfunction junction.’
Flash: View photo overlay
Photo Gallery: 60/91/215 interchange project
Related
- Riverside Press-Enterprise – Connector road to bring relief (July 19)
- Caltrans – 60/91/215 project
- Riverside Co. Transportation Commission
Previous
- RaincrossSquare.com – Riverside Interchange project progresses (April 2006) | Work on Riverside interchange resumes (March 2005) | Contract dispute halts work on ‘Malfunction Junction’ (Feb. 2005) | Uncorking the bottleneck (March 2004)
Sources: Riverside Press-Enterprise (PE-20060719), RaincrossSquare.com
2024 PAGE UPDATE: Added newspaper citation/insert; removed outdated links to newspaper article, Caltrans 60/91/215 project, RCTC Measure A funds, Flash overlay and photo gallery.