Interstate 215 (California)

Interstate 215
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	55.060 mi (88.610 km)
Existed	1982–present
History	1960s as a highway, 1982 as a number
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-15 in Murrieta
Major intersections	SR 74 in Perris SR 60 / SR 91 in Riverside I-10 in Colton SR 210 in San Bernardino
North end	I-15 in San Bernardino
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future State highways in California Interstate US State Scenic History Pre‑1964 Unconstructed Deleted Freeways
← SR 213 → SR 216

Interstate 215 (I-215) is a 54.5-mile (87.7 km) long north–south Interstate highway in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. It is an auxiliary route of Interstate 15 (I-15), running from Murrieta to northern San Bernardino. While I-215 connects the city centers of both Riverside and San Bernardino, its parent I-15 runs to the west through Ontario.

Part of I-215 was originally built and signed as Interstate 15E, but this was later changed as almost all of the Interstates around the country with directional suffixes were eventually renumbered or eliminated, sans I-35E and I-35W in Texas and Minnesota.

I-215 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System.

Route description

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 State Route 91 in Riverside, where it then travels to San Bernardino before terminating at I-15 near the small San Bernardino neighborhood 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 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.

The junction of I-15 and I-215 in southwestern Riverside County

I-215 is also used by local residents as the major north–south route for the urbanized 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.)

Interstate 215 is named the Escondido Freeway from its southern terminus in Murrieta to SR 60 in Moreno Valley. From that point to SR 91, I-215 is co-signed with SR 60 where it inherits the Moreno Valley Freeway name. Between the SR 60/SR 91 interchange in Riverside to Interstate 10 in San Bernardino, the highway is known as the Riverside Freeway. Between I-10 and State Route 210, I-215 is named the San Bernardino Freeway. From SR 210 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. 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. 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.

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. In circa 1968 , U.S.395 was renumbered as I-15 (the original proposed route , as CA 71's proposed number was I-15W / CA 31 Hamner-Milliken ) .This segment of US 395 was again renumbered in 1972 as (Temporary)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. Prior to its upgrade to Interstate Standards , there were traffic signals at CA 74 junction , as well as at Allesandro (in Moreno Valley); rail road crossing also intersected the expressway at CA 74 .

Future

A joint project between Caltrans and SANBAG of San Bernardino County is currently underway to widen I-215 from Orange Show Road to University Parkway adding one general use lane and one carpool lane in each direction. The 7.5-mile, $723 million project will include the reconstruction of all underpasses and overpasses within the project as well as flyover connectors between northbound I-215 to westbound SR-210 and eastbound SR-210 to southbound I-215. The project has four phases with the first two already complete. End of construction is expected in 2013.

Construction between Inland Center Dr. and Orange Show Rd. in San Bernardino

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. The interchange was recently reconstructed to include some high-speed flyovers, one of which carries I-215 southbound traffic.

There is also a significant widening project being undertaken on the San Bernardino portion of I-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. Construction is moving forward on the first phase, which will widen the freeway between Orange Show Road in San Bernardino up to 2nd Street and will also redo the access ramps for the Inland Center Drive, Mill Street, and Orange St. exits. Currently the Base Line Road and 5th Street exits are only accessible from the center lane on the southbound portion of the freeway through the city of San Bernardino. Construction work has also started on the next phase of the project. The 9th Street overpass of the freeway has been removed, as well has the Baseline Road exit on southbound 215. However, due to BNSF tracks running directly parallel to the west of I-215 from 3rd 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).

Exit list

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile	Exit	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
		R10.65	2	Los Alamos Road
		R12.51	4	Clinton Keith Road
	​	R15.52	7	Scott Road
	​	R18.52	10	Newport Road
	Menifee	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
		R34.17	25	Van Buren Boulevard – Riverside National Cemetery, March Field Air Museum
	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	Inaccessible from I-215 northbound
		39.48	30B	Watkins Drive, Central Avenue
		40.28	31	El Cerrito Drive	Closed
		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
		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	Mt. Vernon Avenue was old US 66/US 91/US 395
		4.05	40	I-10 (San Bernardino Freeway) – Redlands, Indio, Los Angeles	Signed as exits 40A (east) and 40B (west) northbound; former US 99
	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	Highland Avenue to SR 210 west	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	Cal State San Bernardino/University Parkway - University District	Former SR 206 north
		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	54B	I-15 south (Ontario Freeway) – Los Angeles, San Diego	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		17.75		I-15 north (Mojave Freeway) – Barstow, Las Vegas	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• California Roads portal

External links

• The 60/91/215 Freeway Improvement Project