Holland Road Overpass: Questions and Answers

This aerial view shows the difference between the existing sections of Holland Road on opposite sides of Interstate 215 and the proposed bridge that will unite them. (Graphics courtesy of City of Menifee)

The Holy Grail of Menifee traffic solutions -- the long-awaited Holland Road overpass -- will become a part of the landscape much earlier than previously thought.

Cue the applause.

Aside from the constant pleas for a Trader Joe's store, nothing has generated more conversation on Menifee 24/7 message boards in recent years than the proposed Holland Road overpass. To hear some tell it, that extra bridge across Interstate 215 between Newport Road and Scott Road is the only thing that will save our fair city from eternal gridlock. And when construction began on the Newport Road freeway interchange with Scott Road listed next on the schedule, expressions of anger and frustration increased.

But thanks to some additional local and regional funding and CalTrans' approval of an "expedited project review", the Holland Road overpass -- officially known as the Holland Road / I215 Bridge Overcrossing Project -- has a design team, construction specifics and a spring 2016 project start date.

OK, so that still isn't tomorrow -- and city officials aren't saying the Holland Road project (see illustration at right) has jumped ahead of the Scott Road bridge expansion on the timeline -- but this is significant news for anyone who frequently travels back and forth across the Great Divide (the 215 corridor). It will actually be possible to travel from Mt. San Jacinto College on the east to the self-storage business at Holland Road west of the freeway in two minutes, rather than the 15-20 minutes (or more) often required to journey through the Antelope Road/Newport Road/ Haun Road urban jungle.

In the meantime, motorists will continue to battle the inevitable traffic jam at Newport Road and Antelope Road, leading to a congested drive over the Newport bridge as crews work to create looping on-ramps and add lanes. To understand why the Holland Road bridge wasn't built first, one must understand the factors involved in the Newport interchange project:

-- Newport Road is part of a major roadway that takes motorists from Hemet all the way to Lake Elsinore. That puts it at the top of the list of Menifee freeway bridges in the eyes of Riverside County and Caltrans officials, who were working on this before the City of Menifee became the City of Menifee.

-- According to City Manager Rob Johnson, the City of Menifee will end up contributing $19 million of its own funds to the Newport project under the county's TUMF (Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee) program, which according to the TUMF website, "ensures that new development pays its fair share for the increased traffic that it creates."

-- Because the City is contributing so much to a regional project funded by several entities, it will be eligible for TUMF fund reimbursement -- to the tune of $13 million, said Johnson. That's cash the City will then be able to redirect into the Holland Road project. So in essence, the Newport Road project is actually generating revenue the Holland Road project needed to move up in the timeline.

Got it?

Now to the particulars:

-- The Holland Road project will connect the east and west portions of Holland Road, filling in the missing link by constructing a bridge starting at Hanover Lane on the east, traveling over Antelope Road and the freeway (illustration at left), and connecting with Haun Road on the west.


-- The bridge will be an overpass, meaning no freeway access at the point -- but two lanes each way across the bridge.

-- According to a traffic study cited by city officials, the Holland Road overpass will save 12,500 trips daily on Newport Road and 14,000 on Scott Road.

-- It's too early to project a completion date for the project or determine whether the Scott Road project must wait for both Newport and Holland to be completed before the Scott Road project starts.

"With regard to Scott, it is very different than Holland due to its size, complexity with surrounding cities ... some projects around Scott Road have conditions to complete so that the interchange can be built ... and [there is] an increasing budget of some $52 million for construction," Johnson said. "We also do not have completed plans and specifications, nor do we have complete control of all of the right of way that needs to be acquired – but we are working to complete it and get it ready to go.

"Holland is less complex (no on/off ramps, limited right of way purchase required), completely within our City limits, has limited environmental concerns due to the local funding, expedited review by Caltrans, and is estimated to cost somewhere between $18 and $20 million."

Still have questions or want to make your feelings known? The City will host an Open House in which residents can find out more about the project. It will be held Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. in room 805 of the Learning Resources Center at Mt. San Jacinto College.

Holland Road, which now dead-ends into Antelope Road at Interstate 215 looking west, will be the start of a bridge at this point. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon