Devore Interchange Project, California

The $324m Devore Interchange Project in the San Bernardino county of California is scheduled for completion in mid-2016.

The interchange improvement project will allow for free transition between I-15 and I-215 in both directions. Image courtesy of WCarter.

The I-15 and I-215 interchange at Devore is located at the bottom of the Cajon Pass. Image courtesy of jcookfisher.

The Interstate 15 (I-15) and Interstate 215 (I-215) interchanges near Devore in the San Bernardino county of California, US, are undergoing large-scale improvements, known as the Devore Interchange Project.

The I-15 is a major highway running 462.3km in California in north-south direction through the San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego Counties. The I-215, a supplementary route of the I-15, runs 87.7km in the Inland Empire region of Southern California connecting the city centres of Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The existing interchange at Devore is, however, causing significant traffic jam hampering free flow transitions between the two highways due to infrastructural constraints.

The construction of the interchange improvement project to reduce congestion and improve freeway operation started in June 2013 with completion scheduled for mid-2016. The project is expected to create 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Details of the existing Devore interchange

The Devore interchange is located at the northern junction of I-15 and I-215 at the bottom of the Cajon Pass, a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. The interchange is one of three routes available into and out of Southern California.

It provides key connectivity for the corridor, which not only witnesses heavy goods movements but also serves as a much-used commuting route. It also offers a gateway to recreational places like Las Vegas and the Colorado River.

Over one million vehicles per week pass through the interchange with up to 160,000 vehicles including 21,000 trucks travelling through it on a daily basis.

The interchange with existing infrastructure does not allow a free flow of traffic and causes significant delay.

The interchange is, moreover, forecasted to witness the passage of 379,000 vehicles including 60,000 trucks daily by 2040, which justified its design improvement.

Details of Devore interchange improvement

The I-15/I-215 interchange at Devore along with adjacent local interchanges will be reconfigured as part of the project. The project scope covers work on I-15 from 2.3 miles south to 2.0 miles north of the interchange. The work on I-215 starts from one mile south to the interchange.

One lane will be added in each direction on the I-15 between Glen Helen Parkway and I-215 to create a four-lane freeway for transition between two highways in both directions. The lane will also provide continuous traffic flow in each direction between State Route 60 and US Highway 395.

Two miles of truck bypass lanes in each direction are being added to separate slow-moving trucks from the traffic flow through the interchange.

Route 66 or the Cajon Boulevard is also being reconnected from the north to the south of the interchange as part of the project.

A total of 17 bridges are being constructed as part of the project.

Details of Devore Interchange Project development and partners

The project report along with the environmental document for the interchange improvement, prepared jointly by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG), was approved in February 2012.

The other partners of the project, led by Caltrans and SANBAG, include the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and the California Transportation Commission.

Devore Interchange improvement project cost and funding

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $324m, which is being met through local funds and taxes (24%), state funds (56%) and federal funds (20%).

Contractors involved with Devore Interchange Project

The design-build contract for the project was awarded to Atkinson Contractors in November 2012.

It was the first ever design-build contract awarded by Caltrans in the Inland Empire. The design-build method for implementing the project was approved by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in July 2010.