Phase 1 completed, consisting in pavement rehabilitation of 1500 feet south of State Route 79 to Soboba Road was completed in June 2013 at a cost of $2.4 million dollars. Improvements made were pavement grinding and overlay, rolled curb, median curb, and safety enhancements, including centerline rumble strips between Soboba Road and State Route 79, and median delineators and rumble strips across the westbound lanes west of Soboba Road.

Phase 2 completed, consisting in roadway improvements of 1500 feet south of State Route 60 to 1.7 miles south of Alessandro Blvd. completed in December 2013 at a cost of $6.3 million dollars. Improvements made were pavement rehabilitation, shoulder widening, and realignment of several curves, construction of a left-turn pocket at the intersection of Gilman Springs Road and Alessandro Blvd., construction of a southbound passing lane starting southerly of Alessandro Blvd. A portion of the project was done in cooperation with the City of Moreno Valley.

Phase 3 completed, consisting in curve alignment of 1000 feet North of Sublette Rd. (west) to Sublette Rd. (east) completed in December 2016 at a cost of $3.2 million dollars. Improvements made were new asphalt pavement, removal of old asphalt pavement (old alignment), roadway signs and markings, reflective pavement markers, and centerline rumble stripe, traffic signal improvements at the intersections of Gilman Springs Rd. (State St.) & Soboba Rd.

Phase 4A pending, consisting in shoulder widening & striped median, 1.7 miles south of Alessandro Blvd., to 1 mile south of Bridge St., construction start date TBD and project cost TBD. Proposed improvements: pavement widening to accommodate painted median with centerline rumble stripes, widening the paved shoulder, dirt shoulder, and slope grading, and extending existing drainage facilities.

Phase 4B pending, consisting in shoulder widening & striped median 1 mile south of Bridge St., to State Route 79, construction start date TBD and project cost TBD. Proposed improvements: pavement widening to accommodate painted median with centerline rumble stripes, widening the paved shoulder, dirt shoulder, and slope grading, and extending existing drainage facilities.

Phase 5 completed, consisting in traffic signal improvements on State Route 79 to 1500 feet south of State Route 79, completed in November 2018 at a cost of $945.000. Proposed improvements: pavement widening to accommodate 2 through lanes of travel in each direction between the on/off ramps, resurfacing from northbound ramps to 1500 feet south of SR-79, and traffic signal installation for northbound on and off-ramps.

Phase 6 pending, consisting in passing lane in segments between Jack Rabbit Trail and State Route 79, construction start date TBD and project cost TBD. Proposed improvements: construction of a North and Southbound passing lane between Jack Rabbit Trail and Bridge Street and a northbound passing lane between Bridge St. and SR-79.

For the time being, Gilman Springs Road is on the list of most dangerous highways in all of California. Hopefully, the completed phases of this rehabilitation project have made it safer than before (only those that drive regularly on this road know) and that proposed improvements once completed will significantly enhance road safety for all those commuters and travelers who need to use this artery on a regular basis.

The post Project Gilman Springs Road / Incomplete appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Some people get too impatient trying to get to work, get home, or get tired of looking at the same set of brake lights in front of them. No matter the reason, it is never an excuse to drive irresponsibly on any road or on that particular highway. With so many blind turns, there are very few safe places to pass on the road. Most of the highway is only two lanes with minimal shoulder area on either side. At some point, it is needed to sit back and think if is it better to show up fifteen minutes late or die 30 years early.

So what is being done about this? First of all, they installed a traffic light midway through the highway where Bridge street is. This security measure should help the people who are merging out of bridge street onto Gilman Springs. In the past, some people get impatient waiting for a legal opening and instead try to squeeze through a gap that was not ideal for the situation causing many opportunities for car accidents.

Personally speaking, I spent the better half of my construction career driving through that road at 3:00 in the morning, and coming through their after it got dark. It could be frustrating to being so close to home, yet it feels like it is so far away, but that does not make it worth it.

It seems that the community’s pleas were heard because they are adding a barrier in between the lanes now. Unfortunately, it is not the kind of barrier the community wants. It is what we call in the construction industry a false sense of safety. The nine-mile highway will get a center barrier of cones that should help guide distracted drivers and prevents them from crossing over to the other side. It is going to cost over 100k in materials but should take too long to perform.

The problem with these types of barriers is that they are only a visual deterrent. A drunk driver can easily still cross over to the other side of the road, causing severe accidents.
Ideally, the road needs an extension and a concrete barrier. This project sounds better than it is practical. In order to place a concrete barrier, the lanes would need to be nearly doubled what they are right now.

For that to take place, multiple pieces of private property will need to be purchased, and then there is the actual construction of the project. Even though it is not necessarily steep, still there are parts of the highway that have cliff type edges. Massive columns, stem decks, and bridges would have to be installed in order for the road to be widened and center medians installed. We are talking about a project that would cost millions of dollars and a couple of years to finish, having only two options to get out of town in that direction, Lambs Canyon or Ramona Expressway — talking about traffic issues.

In conclusion, all these options are possible, but are they logical? For sure, Things need to change on the highway, either a future construction, more police force, or people paying more attention to their surroundings.

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