Project Description
Caltrans will reconstruct concrete pavement in both directions on the two outside lanes of Interstate 15 (I-15) from Sierra Avenue in the City of Fontana to the I-215 junction, a 3.4 mile stretch in Devore. This $15 million contract is scheduled to begin in August 2004 and be completed by February 2005. The project has been termed a “Demonstration Project.” It utilizes accelerated around-the-clock construction techniques with incentives that require greater traffic impacts over a shorter period compared to conventional methods. It is our goal to replace the aging pavement with minimum traffic delays, but we need your help. We are asking the public to support this fast-track pavement approach and modify daily commute route and times through the project area during peak periods (see “Suggested Alternate Routes”
.Project Background
I-15 is a heavily traveled route. Over 80,000 vehicles use the I-15 for their daily commute between the high desert and southern points such as San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Orange counties. The I-15 also serves as a major truck route for goods movement.
Pavement reconstruction on freeways in urban areas has become one of the greatest needs and challenges facing the transportation system in California and across the nation. Pavement reconstruction requires multiple lane closures and has typically become a nighttime operation to avoid extreme traffic delays. Nighttime construction windows limit construction production requiring projects of this magnitude to take well over a year to complete. Other disadvantages include a higher cost for construction materials that have a shorter life expectancy and safety concerns for workers in close proximity to motorists at night. This “Demonstration Project” dedicates one directional roadbed to construction activities, while switching all traffic to the adjacent directional roadbed separated by a barrier, but with reduced capacity.
