WikiPortallus: Interstate 15 (California).html

In Murieta, I-15 splits from its first (and only) spur route in California, Interstate 215, which runs through the two largest cities in the Inland Empire: San Bernardino and Riverside. I-15 runs along the eastern edge of the Santa Ana Mountains, passing the town of Lake Elsinore. The freeway continues through the suburban areas in the western Inland Empire, passing Corona and Ontario. The highway is then rejoined by I-215 before heading northwards and upward through the Cajon Pass, the importatant mountain pass that serves as the primary route between Southern California points eastwards and northeastwards.

The portion of I-15 that is located between its northern and southern junctions with I-215 is also used by many local residents as the major north-south route for the western portions of the San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario metropolitan area. (I-215 serves a similar function in the eastern portion of the metropolitan area. These two highways are the only continuous north-south freeways in the area.)

North of the Cajon Pass, I-15 traverses the Mojave Desert towns of Hesperia and Victorville. I-15 passes through mostly unspoiled desert for 30 miles (48 km) before reaching Barstow, California, the last town that I-15 passes through in California. The only other settlement I-15 passes through in its final 108 miles (174 km) is Baker, California. The sign for the Zzyzx exit, the alphabetically last place name in the United States, is a somewhat-known landmark along the drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nevada on I-15.^{citation needed} I-15 leaves California near the casino town of Primm, Nevada (formerly known as Stateline, Nevada).

Escondido Freeway

Heading northward, I-15 currently begins at Interstate 8 at the same place that its continuation, State Route 15, begins its southward journey. I-15 goes through Mission Valley and intersects with State Route 52 and merges with State Route 163. After traversing the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, I-15 emerges into Carmel Valley, where it intersects with the end of State Route 56. I-15 continues north into Escondido, where it interchanges with State Route 78. North of Escondido, I-15 goes through rural areas, intersecting State Route 76 before it crosses the county line into Riverside County. In Riverside County, SR 79 runs concurrently with I-15 for a four-mile (6 km) portion within the city of Temecula, California before it splits away to continue north to Hemet, California. Then, I-15 intersects with the southern end of Interstate 215, which carries the designation of the "Escondido Freeway". Interstate-15 continues north as the Temecula Valley Freeway.⁵

On January 24, 1957, the State Highway Commission defined the Escondido Freeway as what are now Routes 15 and 215 from Route 805 to Route 91. Note that this entire segment was previously U.S. Route-395 when it was named. Since then, the definition was extended on Route 15 south to Route 8 by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 34, Chapter 67 in 1979.⁶ Meanwhile, the segment of Route 15 from the San Diego County Line to the I-15/I-215 interchange was named the Temecula Valley Freeway in 1990.⁷

I-15 between SR 163 and Miramar Road is known as the "Semper Fi Highway" in recognition of the nearby Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.⁸

There are high-occupancy toll lanes in the center of I-15 from State Route 163 to State Route 56.⁹ Construction is currently ongoing (as of spring 2008) to extend these lanes northward to SR 78. The current HOT lanes from SR 163 to SR 56 are being expanded to four lanes as part of the same project.

Temecula Valley Freeway

Corona Freeway

The Corona Freeway is a freeway traveling through Riverside County, California. It is signed as Interstate 15 along its entire length. The Corona Freeway runs north-south from its southern terminus at I-215 near Temecula to its northern terminus at the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91).

The original definition for the Corona Freeway, as named by the State Highway Commission on July 23, 1958, stated that it was "Routes 71, 91, and 15 from Route 10 West of Pomona to Route 215".¹⁰

This legal definition has been amended twice: First in 1990, the California Assembly passed Concurrent Resolution 125, Chapter 78, renaming I-15 between the San Diego County Line (which is further south from Interstate 215) and Bundy Canyon Road near Lake Elsinore as the Temecula Valley Freeway.¹¹

Then in 1993, the California Assembly passed legislation officially designating State Route 71 as a part of the Chino Valley Freeway.¹² However, the name "Corona Freeway" is, confusingly, sometimes still applied to this portion of State Route 71; despite the change, guide signs on I-10 eastbound and SR 57 southbound at the Kellogg Interchange in Pomona still refer to SR 71 as the "Corona Freeway".

Ontario Freeway

North of Limonite Avenue (south of SR 60), I-15 is known as the Ontario Freeway. I-15 intersects State Route 60, Interstate 10, and Interstate 210 in rapid succession as it goes through Norco and Rancho Cucamonga. As it nears Devore, I-15 merges with Interstate 215 and becomes what is known as the Barstow Freeway or the Mojave Freeway.

Mojave Freeway

The Mojave Freeway is the name given to the segment of Interstate 15 in California between the northern I-215 junction and the Nevada state line. The portion between former State Route 30 and the Nevada state line is also known as the Barstow Freeway. It is the principal route between Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nevada, and points to the north and east.

The Ontario (I-15) and Escondido (I-215) freeways meet in Devore, a foothill town just northwest of San Bernardino, merging into the Mojave Freeway. Crossing the San Bernardino Mountains at the Cajon Pass, the freeway enters the Victor Valley and continues northeast through the Mojave Desert. It terminates at the Nevada state line; I-15 continues thereafter to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and so forth before ending at the Canadan border.

The Mojave Freeway is fairly busy on weekdays, since it connects the rapidly growing exurbs of the Victor Valley with the Los Angeles area. On weekends and holidays, however, it can sometimes be largely jammed with Californians driving to Las Vegas for short vacations.

History

I-15 replaced US 395 between San Diego and Temecula. The highway replaced US 66 between San Bernardino and Barstow. The route north of Barstow replaced US 91.

I-15 was initially planned to run from I-10 in San Bernardino along the current I-215 alignment then up through the Cajon Pass and on to Las Vegas, with a distance of 186.24 miles (299.72 km) within the state. California successfully argued the addition south to San Diego, suggesting that the freeway would connect the major military bases former March AFB and former NAS (now MCAS) Miramar. US 395 was then signed TEMP-15 and the "old" I-15 between Devore and San Bernardino became I-215.

State Route 31

In the 1964 renumbering, the route was assigned as State Route 31. It was added to the Interstate Highway System in February 1972 as a realignment of Interstate 15 (the former alignment became Interstate 15E).¹⁶ Legislative changes were made in 1974, eliminating SR 31 (along with State Route 71 south of Corona) in favor of I-15.¹⁷ However, SR 31 continued to be signed - as TEMPORARY Interstate 15 - until present I-15 was finished. (A 1986 map shows state maintenance continuing north past SR 60 to Jurupa Street, where it turned east to I-15.¹⁸)

Future

Most of Interstate 15 is undergoing major improvements from Devore to the Nevada State Line, beginning in 2002 and costing $349 million. This project will improve traffic flow on the heavily traveled highway for those going to and from Las Vegas. Most of the construction will be completed by Winter 2009. [1] Projects include adding truck lanes on hills (39 miles at various locations), repaving 76 miles (122 km) of I-15 at various locations, adding exit numbers, renovating and rehabilitating the rest area between Baker and the Nevada State Line (Valley Wells Rest Area), reconstructing bridges in Baker, and moving the agriculture inspection station from Yermo to the Nevada State Line and including a truck weigh station.

There is also construction ongoing (circa spring 2008) to expand traffic lanes in northern San Diego County, including the northward extension (beyond SR 56) of the existing high-occupancy toll lanes which already exist between SR 56 and SR 163. It appears that this extension will move the northern terminus of the HOT lanes to a location at or near the interchange with SR 78.

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