$5.4 Million Secured for $24.3 Million Interchange Improvement

The city is $5.4 million closer to fixing traffic problems on the I-15 interchange with Temecula Parkway.

The city agreed Tuesday to accept the sum from the county when another source came up short.

The city planned to use funds from a source called the Regional Arterial Program, which is paid for through Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees. Developers pay these fees when building, and they go to improve roads.

Then the housing market crashed and the fees city officials were counting on never came. “Due to the economic downturn and its impact on development, the current TUMF Regional Arterial program does not have sufficient revenues to obligate $5.4 million for this project,” wrote Greg Butler, the city’s director of public works, in a report.

The $24.3 million project will mostly affect the southbound off-ramp. It will build a loop-style ramp farther south than the current one, which will take drivers past Temecula Parkway, loop them around and let them out onto the street without having to stop at a signal, according to a city staff report.

The northbound off-ramp will be widened to four lanes. Vehicles exiting and turning left into Old Town will stop at a light, but the ones heading east will merge directly onto the street.

The northbound on-ramp will be widened to three lanes and will include a traffic meter. The southbound on-ramp will be moved further west along Temecula Parkway to go around the looping southbound exit.

The city is also set to get $8.9 million from a federal source, bringing the total of secured funds to $14.3.

The city was also set to get $10 million from the Pechanga tribe, but the deal fell through. The city is suing the tribe for the sum, which is scheduled for a hearing in a federal court in Los Angeles March 7. The sum would pay for the remainder of the interchange.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission approved the $5.4 million contribution to the project in September. Construction is scheduled to start later this year if all the funding can be secured.