Ground broken on interchange project that restores part of Route 66

The California Department of Transportation held a ceremonial groundbreaking last week for building a new interchange for Interstates 15 and 215 near Devore that includes restoring a part of Route 66 to traffic, reported the Highland Community News.

The $324 million project adds truck by-pass lanes and one travel lane in each direction — all to reduce congestion in one of Southern California’s worst bottlenecks. Then there’s this:

In addition, Route 66 (Cajon Boulevard) will be reconnected from just north of the I-15/I-215 interchange to just south of the same interchange.

By my calculations, this move will restore about two miles of original Route 66, and make it easier for tourists to drive into the San Bernardino area.

This is an artist’s rendering of the completed interchange. Based on what I’ve learned, the restored Route 66 is on the left, sweeping underneath the freeway at one point:

The Devore Interchange Project, as it’s called, is expected to be finished in mid-2016. The project even has its own website.

3 thoughts on “Ground broken on interchange project that restores part of Route 66

  1. Having been involved with this project for the last 12 years, yes it has taken that long to get to this point. I can share with you that although there were many plans being considered everyone of them had as a major element the ‘reconnection ‘ of the old road. Some parts on the old road bed and other sections would be new. Yet the north and south ends of the original road will be connected.

  2. Fantastic to hear that it’s moving forward! It’s also interesting to note that one small piece of Route 66 roadway to be improved at the south end of the project was first bypassed way back around 1931. It will be great to not need the freeway anymore.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.