15 Freeway To Shut Down As Work Continues In Wildomar

Motorists can expect significant delays in coming days at Clinton Keith Road and the 15 Freeway in Wildomar as crews continue work on the bridge-widening project.

According to project spokesman Dennis Green, crews will be working Jan. 10-11 to switch out to new traffic signals on Clinton Keith at the bridge.

“It will be slower than usual,” Green told an audience gathered for the Wednesday night Wildomar City Council meeting at City Hall.

Green said the signal work will be followed next week by nighttime freeway closures.

Starting Jan. 14, all lanes on the southbound 15 Freeway will be completely closed at the bridge in Wildomar, from 10 p.m. to 4:01 a.m. the next morning, according to Caltrans.

The state agency is reporting the freeway will be completely shut down the night of Jan. 15 in both directions at the bridge: The northbound side will be closed from 11 p.m. on Jan. 15 to 5 a.m. Jan. 16; the southbound side will shut down from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

The night of Jan. 16, beginning at 11 p.m., all lanes on the northbound side of the freeway at the bridge will close; they will reopen at 5 a.m. Jan. 17.

Green said detours will be easy to follow during the closures.

The Clinton Keith bridge-widening project includes adding vehicle lanes and pedestrian sidewalks on the 15 Freeway overpass to alleviate congestion on the heavily trafficked roadway. The project, which broke ground in March, was made possible through the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee program (TUMF). Under the program, developers of residential, industrial, and commercial property pay a development fee to help fund transportation projects that become necessary as a result of increased traffic the projects create.

The bridge widening is slated to be complete this fall, but Green said construction is running ahead of schedule.