Route 210 to Interstate 215
High-Speed Connectors, San Bernardino
SANBAG obtained environmental clearance in July 2007 for two high-speed connectors to be built between State Route 210 and Interstate 215. These large flyover ramps will link eastbound Route 210 to southbound Interstate 215, as well as northbound Interstate 215 to westbound Route 210.
The connectors originally were planned to be built as part of the Route 210 construction contract, but this work was removed from the project in 2001 when geologists discovered a new seismic phenomenon known as “fault rupture” in the area. While engineers in California have regularly had to design freeways and bridges to address seismic issues, “fault rupture” reacts differently from other seismic conditions. This phenomenon requires the consideration of not only seismic faults, but also the likely event of liquefaction due to a high water table. The result of this discovery was that the design of the two long bridges connecting the two freeways would have to be reconsidered by a panel of technical experts that included geologists and structural engineers.
The connectors were removed from the project to avoid delays to the Route 210 construction schedule. If the connectors had remained part of the Route 210 scope of work, the freeway opening would have been delayed by several years, preventing traffic congestion relief within this corridor and other east-west freeways, like Interstate 10 and Route 60.
The connectors will be built in conjunction with the widening of the section of Interstate 215 north of Massachusetts Avenue in San Bernardino. Final design of the connectors and I-215 widening project is underway. Construction is expected to begin in 2009 and be complete by 2011. Funding for the connectors and I-215 widening is approximately $168.5 million and will be financed by a combination of state and Measure I revenue. A total of $81 million of this funding is derived from Proposition 1B, the voter-approved transportation bond package.
Until the connectors are built, motorists traveling east on Route 210 who wish to transition to southbound Interstate 215 should use the State Street off-ramp in San Bernardino, turn south on State, head east on 20th Street, north on California Street, east on Highland Avenue, and then enter Interstate 215 using the Mt. Vernon Avenue/27th Street on-ramp. Motorists traveling north on Interstate 215 who wish to transition to westbound Route 210 should use the Mt. Vernon Avenue/27th Street off-ramp, head west on Highland Avenue, turn south on California Street, west on 20th Street, and then enter Route 210 using the State Street on-ramp.