Interstate 215 (California)

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Interstate 215 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Defined by S&HC § 515, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	55.060 mi[1] (88.610 km)
History:	1960s as a highway, 1982 as a number
South end:	I-15 in Murrieta
Major junctions:	SR 60 / SR 91 in Riverside I-10 in Colton
North end:	I-15 in San Bernardino
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) < SR 213 SR 216 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

Interstate 215 (I-215) in California is a 54.5-mile (87.7 km) long north-south Interstate Highway in the "Inland Empire" region of Southern California. Part of I-215 was originally built and signed as Interstate 15E, but this was later changed. California was also eliminating such numberings as Interstate 5W and Interstate 5E. When Interstate 15E became I-215, Interstate 15W in that same general area became simply Interstate 15.

Interstate 215 passes through the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino while its parent route Interstate 15 runs through the "suburbs". However, the definitions for U.S. Interstate Highways say that a highway with the extra leading digits of {2, 4, 6, or 8} is defined as an additional Interstate route "around or through" a metropolitan location. This same situation in seen in places like Des Moines, Iowa, where Interstate 80 goes around the city, but other routes like Interstate 235 and Interstate 35 go through it. The same situation applies at St. Joseph, Missouri, where Interstate 29 goes around the city, but Interstate 229 goes through it.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System^[3].

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Future 4 Exit list 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Route description

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
San Diego (southbound; via I-15 south) Murrieta Perris Moreno Valley Riverside (via SR 91 west) Grand Terrace Colton San Bernardino Barstow (northbound; via I-15 north)

The southern terminus of Interstate 215 is at the junction of Interstate 15 in the city of Murrieta in southern Riverside County. It then runs north through Perris before joining State Route 60 in Moreno Valley.

I-215 splits from SR 60 at the State Route 91 in Riverside, where it then travels to San Bernardino before terminating at I-15 near the small community of Devore.

This route is an alternative to I-15 for drivers traveling from, for example, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Bernardino, to the San Diego metropolitan area. This route offers more of a distance advantage since it is an alternative to Interstate 15's alignment that is about 10 miles (16 km) to the west of, and roughly parallel to, I-215. However, the traffic and time "advantage" on the I-215 is limited by three factors: the segment between the I-15 / I-215 "Devore junction" and San Bernardino only has two lanes in each direction (on the other hand, I-15 has four), it is co-signed with SR 60 between Riverside and Moreno Valley, and it has only two lanes in each direction between Perris and Murrieta.

I-215 is also used by local residents as the major north-south route for the eastern portions of the San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario metropolitan area. (I-15 serves a similar function in the western portion of the metropolitan area; the two are the only continuous north-south freeways in the area.)

The I-215 is named the Escondido Freeway from its southern terminus in Murrieta to SR 60 in Moreno Valley. Between the SR 60/SR 91 interchange in Riverside to Interstate 10 in San Bernardino, the freeway is known as the Riverside Freeway. From that point to its northern terminus, I-215 is named the Barstow Freeway.

On January 24, 1957, the State Highway Commission defined the Escondido Freeway as what is now Routes 15 and 215 from Route 805 to Route 91. Note that this entire segment was previously 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.^[4] 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.^[5]

[edit] History

The highway (not an Interstate) that is currently Interstate 215 first opened in 1963 as part of U.S. Route 395. The "mileposts" in Riverside County reflect this, since they do not go to zero at the Interstate 15 interchange in Murrieta. This segment of US 395 was renumbered in 1972 as Interstate 15E. Next in 1982, this route was renumbered as I-215 north of SR 60, and as State Route 215 south of State Route 60. Once State Route 215 was upgraded by construction to Interstate Highway standards, it became part of I-215 in 1994.

[edit] Future

The shared segment with SR 60 is undergoing significant reconstruction and widening, including a complete reconstruction of the I-215/SR 60/SR 91 interchange in downtown Riverside, and also the addition of truck lanes and a truck interchange at the I-215/SR 60 split near Moreno Valley. Most recently, a joint project between Caltrans and SANBAG of San Bernardino County broke ground to widen the I-215 freeway from Highland Road all the way to Interstate 10 interchange, including the rebuilding of all but one bridge (Rialto Ave.) over the freeway. Although this new project is being done largely during the night, it is expected to be completed in the year 2011.^[6]

Due to the fact that the I-215 designation was overlaid upon existing freeways between the southern junction with SR 60 and the city of San Bernardino, the SR 60/SR 91/I-215 interchange in the city of Riverside has been widely known for its confusing nature concerning the numbering of I-215. While SR 60 continues east-and-west through this interchange, and SR 91 coninues south (and formerly to the north, the number having now been removed), the I-215 designation continues away from this interchange on SR 60 East and the former northern portion of SR 91 (now solely numbered I-215). Travelers following I-215 in either direction need to "change freeways" at this interchange, instead of just following through lanes.

There is also a significant widening project being undertaken on the San Bernardino portion of the 215 which will add a travel lane in either direction between the I-10/I-215 interchange in southern San Bernardino and the SR 210/I-215 interchange in northern San Bernardino. Also, a connecting ramp for SR 210 east to I-215 south and I-215 north to SR 210 west will be built as part of the project.^[7] Construction is currently moving forward on the first phase, which will widen the freeway between Orange Show Road in San Bernardino up to 2^nd Street and will also redo the access ramps for the Inland Center Drive, Mill Street, and Orange St. exits. As the project continues northward, other access ramps will have to be relocated and/or widened. Currently the Base Line Road and 5^th Street exits are only accessible from the center lane on the southbound portion of the freeway through the city of San Bernardino. However, due to BNSF tracks running directly parallel to the west of I-215 from 3^rd Street to beyond Mt. Vernon, the entire freeway through San Bernardino itself between 3rd St. and Highland looks like it will be moved eastward about 50 feet (15 m).

[edit] Exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [1][8][9]	#[10]	Destinations	Notes
Riverside RIV R9.00-45.33	Murrieta	R9.00		I-15 south (Temecula Valley Freeway) – Temecula, San Diego	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		R9.51	1	Murrieta Hot Springs Road to I-15 north
		R10.65	2	Los Alamos Road
		R12.51	4	Clinton Keith Road
		R15.52	7	Scott Road
		R18.52	10	Newport Road
	Sun City	R20.84	12	McCall Boulevard – Sun City
		22.76	14	Ethanac Road
		23.54	15	SR 74 east – Hemet	South end of SR 74 overlap
	Perris	26.31	17	SR 74 west (4th Street) – Lake Elsinore, Perris	North end of SR 74 overlap
		27.23	18	D Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		R27.89	19	Nuevo Road
		R30.93	22	Ramona Expressway, Cajalco Expressway
		R32.33	23	Harley Knox Boulevard	Formerly Oleander Avenue[11]
		R34.17	25	Van Buren Boulevard
	Moreno Valley	R35.76	27A	Cactus Avenue – March JARB, Moreno Valley, Arnold Heights	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west) southbound
		R36.42	27B	Alessandro Boulevard	Signed as exit 27C southbound
		R37.44	28	Eucalyptus Avenue, Eastridge Avenue
	Riverside	R38.34	29	SR 60 east (Moreno Valley Freeway) – Beaumont, Indio	South end of SR 60 overlap
		R38.92	30A	Fair Isle Drive – Box Springs	No northbound exit[citation needed]
		39.48	30B	Watkins Drive, Central Avenue
		40.28	31	El Cerrito Drive	Closed[citation needed]
		40.98	31	Martin Luther King Boulevard
		41.49	32	University Avenue (SR 60 Bus. west)
		42.16	33	3rd Street, Blaine Street
		42.84	34A	Spruce Street	Closed[citation needed]
		43.27	34B	SR 91 west (Riverside Freeway) – Riverside, Beach Cities	Left exit southbound; former US 91 west
		43.27	34A	SR 60 west (Pomona Freeway) – Pomona, Los Angeles	North end of SR 60 overlap
		43.90	35	Columbia Avenue
		45.01	36	Center Street – Highgrove
San Bernardino SBD 0.00-17.75	Colton	0.40	37	La Cadena Drive, Iowa Avenue – Colton
	Grand Terrace	1.31	38	Barton Road
	Colton	2.69	39	Mt. Vernon Avenue, Washington Street
		4.05	40	I-10 (San Bernardino Freeway) – Redlands, Indio, Los Angeles	Signed as exits 40A (east) and 40B (west) northbound
	San Bernardino	5.03	41	Orange Show Road, Auto Plaza Drive
		5.58	42A	Inland Center Drive – Colton
		6.06	42B	Mill Street – SBD Airport
		6.79	43	2nd Street, 3rd Street – San Bernardino Civic Center
		7.18	44A	SR 66 west (5th Street) – San Bernardino Civic Center	Signed as exit 44 southbound
		8.08	44B	Base Line Street	Signed as exit 45 southbound
		8.60	45A	To SR 210 east (SR 259 east) – Highland, Running Springs	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		9.03	45B	Muscupiabe Drive	Northbound exit only
		9.36	46A	To SR 210 west / Highland Avenue	Southbound exit is via exit 46B
		9.72	46B	Mt. Vernon Avenue, 27th Street
		10.05	46C	SR 210 (Foothill Freeway) – Pasadena, Redlands	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former SR 30
		11.63	48	University Parkway
		14.09	50	Palm Avenue, Kendall Drive	Former SR 206 south
		17.32	54A	Devore Road – Devore	Signed as exit 54 southbound; former US 66 west
		17.75	54	I-15 (Ontario Freeway, Mojave Freeway) – Los Angeles, San Diego, Barstow, Las Vegas	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 54B (south) and no number (north)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 215 (California)

• The 60/91/215 Freeway Improvement Project

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 15 California: 215 — Nevada: 215 • 515 — Utah: 215 • 415 (former) — Montana: 115 • 315 (unsigned)

v • d • e Freeways in Greater Los Angeles Radial Hollywood (US 101/SR 170) • Golden State (I-5) • Antelope Valley (SR 14) • Glendale (SR 2) • Pasadena (SR 110) • San Bernardino (I-10) • Pomona (SR 60) • Santa Ana (I-5/US 101) • Laguna (SR 133) • Corona del Mar (SR 73) • Long Beach (I-710) • Seaside (SR 47) • Terminal Island (SR 103) • Harbor (I-110/SR 110) • Marina (SR 90) • Santa Monica (I-10) Circumferential Ventura (US 101/SR 134) • Foothill (I-210) • San Gabriel River (I-605) • Orange (SR 57) • Costa Mesa (SR 55) • Artesia (SR 91) • Garden Grove (SR 22) • Century (I-105) • Gardena (SR 91) • San Diego (I-405) • Moorpark (SR 23) • Ojai (SR 33) • Ronald Reagan (SR 118) • Santa Paula (SR 126) Inland Empire Chino Valley (SR 71) • Foothill (SR 210) • Moreno Valley (SR 60) • Riverside (SR 91) • San Bernardino (I-10/I-215) • I-10 • I-15 • I-215 • SR 259 • SR 330 Toll Eastern (SR 133/SR 241/SR 261) • Foothill (SR 241) • San Joaquin Hills (SR 73) • 91 Express