Route 66 in the News
Offramps to Breathe Life into Community
2005-04-30 09:07:05
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Interstate 215 dealt a death blow to a thriving stretch of historic Route 66 and an uppercut to the economic potential of the city's Westside when it roared through in the 1950s.
"We have been bypassed for many years now, and it's time to wake up and give us a little piece of the pie," said Wiley Shaw, a Westside resident who has lived in the city on and off for about 60 years.
That piece is coming.
The long-awaited I-215 widening project is scheduled to begin late next year with a major revamping of the Fifth Street bridge. If things go as planned, the freeway face-lift will take about six to seven years and will cost about $500 million. That's almost three times what officials originally estimated.
The project promises to unclog traffic by adding lanes between Interstate 10 and the yet-to-be-completed Interstate 210. But the new on- and off-ramps are what have some excited about potential benefits for residents and businesses west of the freeway.
"It would seem to open up the west side of the community for the first time with direct off-ramp access, which I think is positive," said Gary Van Osdel, executive director of San Bernardino's Economic Development Agency.
Between Mill Street and Highland Avenue on I-215, only one exit on each side provides direct access to westbound streets. The rest funnel traffic east. Exiting drivers must make a couple of turns to go west.
The redesigned freeway will have ramps with direct access to other east-west roads such as Base Line, Fifth Street and 16th Street.
The southbound entrance ramp at Fourth Street that plops merging drivers in the fast lane will be no more. A long ramp at Third Street that fronts the freeway and merges traffic into the slow lane will replace it.
Councilwoman Esther Estrada said direct freeway access will greatly benefit her constituents on the Westside.
"We have an opportunity to really do something finally for the west side of the city ... and to hopefully undo the harm that the last 50 years has created," she said.
Estrada, who lives in the same home she grew up in on the Westside, remembers a vibrant community strangled by I-215 decades ago.
"We had a number of restaurants, we had a number of markets, we had bakeries with Mexican bread and tortilla shops," she said.
The thriving business district along Mount Vernon Avenue, a portion of historic Route 66, died quickly when the freeway came, she said.
"It did have a bearing on the economics of the area," said Councilman Rikkie Van Johnson, who also represents a portion of the Westside.
The completion of the I-210 extension in late 2007 and the revamped I-215 will refuel the community by providing better access and, in turn, bringing economic growth, he said.
The freeway plans always included more direct routes to westbound streets, but the original design in the 1990s called for freeway frontage roads instead of additional lanes.
Planners nixed the plan four years ago because it would not meet traffic demands for a 20-year span, Caltrans engineer Mustapha Raouf said.
Between 147,000 and 174,000 motorists pass through San Bernardino on I-215 daily, and traffic is expected to increase to 220,000 vehicles a day by 2020.
Meanwhile, the design change, combined with state funding delays and required environmental studies, hampered the project schedule and run-up costs.
Construction prices have risen dramatically in the past two years. Concrete rose about 20 percent while structural steel prices doubled or tripled.
China's massive growth spurt and the weak dollar contributed to escalating steel prices worldwide, said Tom Danjczek, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association.
Property costs also contributed to the tab, jumping about 40 percent in the same time period, Sanbag spokeswoman Cheryl Donahue said.
The redesigned freeway will encroach on about 326 properties, including the taking of some homes. Caltrans officials began contacting owners in the fall to work on buyout plans that include relocation assistance.
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