Drivers grinding through daily traffic on I-15 through Temecula, Murrieta, and Lake Elsinore could eventually get relief as Riverside County pushes its express lane network roughly 15 more miles south toward the San Diego County line. The Riverside County Transportation Commission has awarded the contract for the I-15 Express Lanes Southern Extension to SC Constructors, according to procurement records posted on RCTC's website.
The extension picks up where the original I-15 Express Lanes left off at Cajalco Road in Corona and stretches south to meet existing managed lanes in San Diego County, creating a nearly continuous tolled corridor from San Diego all the way to San Bernardino County. The original 15-mile stretch, running from Jurupa Valley to Corona, opened in April 2021.
The corridor has become one of California's most punishing commutes. Riverside County's population has more than doubled since 1990, fueled largely by families priced out of coastal Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. That growth turned I-15 through southwest Riverside County into a daily chokepoint, with residents often enduring 90-minute-plus drives to jobs on the coast. The highway also carries heavy freight traffic tied to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
RCTC is using a Progressive Design-Build approach to deliver the project. Under that model, SC Constructors was selected on qualifications rather than lowest bid and will collaborate with the agency through the design phase, with costs negotiated as plans take shape. RCTC has used similar methods before, including on the 91 Corridor Improvement Project completed in 2017, and state legislation has steadily expanded the authority of California agencies to use these delivery tools.
The project is backed in part by Measure A, Riverside County's half-cent transportation sales tax first passed in 1988 and extended through 2039. The specific contract value, construction timeline and number of lane miles have not been disclosed; RCTC would need to confirm those details.
The existing I-15 Express Lanes use dynamic toll pricing that has climbed above $20 during peak periods, drawing ongoing criticism that managed lanes primarily benefit higher-income drivers. That debate is likely to follow the Southern Extension as it moves through design and into construction.
