I-15 Northbound Onramp Closure Will Last Through The Weekend: What To Know, Where To Avoid

TEMECULA, CA — Drivers familiar with heading north on the I-15 Freeway in Temecula have struggled this week with traffic jams due to the closed northbound onramps.

The direct on-ramp closure was slated to last until 5 a.m. Monday, July 21, the Riverside County Transportation Commission said.

"The ramp will be closed for an extended period of time to allow for safe demolition and reconstruction. During this closure, crews will extend a second lane of the on-ramp by several hundred feet and create a safety pocket for emergency vehicles. The work will also involve reconfiguring and realigning the ramp to create a merge point between the Rancho California Road direct and loop on-ramps," according to a statement released by the commission.

The posted detour has motorists traveling west on Rancho California Road, northbound on Jefferson Avenue, and east on Winchester Road to enter northbound I-15, which has created its own unique set of problems.

Drivers have noted a significant presence of Riverside County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol officers monitoring the Rancho California Road intersections, particularly the turn lanes from Ynez and Rancho California Roads leading to the freeway.

This improvement to one of Southern California's most problematic stretches of freeway was designed as a two-year pilot project. The goal is to improve overall traffic flow and reduce rear-end collisions by maintaining steady travel speeds within the I-15 corridor, without highway expansion and related construction costs and impacts.