Newport Road bridge: The lanes finally line up!

This photo, taken from a dash cam heading west over the Newport Road bridge, shows that the entire width of the road is now open. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Now that the K-rails and traffic cones have been removed and the pavement re-striped, motorists can travel across the Newport Road bridge without obstruction and with lanes that run straight across the Interstate 215 bridge.

During the previous phase of construction, motorists traveling west on Newport Road had to angle through the Antelope Road intersection to lanes that were striped to go around the blocked-off middle section of the road. Those turning left from northbound Antelope Road onto westbound Newport also faced some confusion in the transition of the lanes.

Since the joining of the north and south halves of the bridge have been completed, the lanes line up and traffic will flow even easier. With the bridge completed, the final phase of the $48.4 million project is the completion of freeway lanes running under the bridge and preparation for landscaping.