Elected state and local officials joined representatives from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on February 17 to announce the official opening of new northbound lanes at the Interstate 5/Interstate 805 Merge.
The opening represents a 40 percent completion of the entire $176 million construction project. When completed in late 2007, the new I-5/I-805 Merge will be 23 lanes at its widest point. Caltrans has posted information on its Web site to help motorists find their way.
The bypass lane and new connectors give commuters direct access to State Route 56 and Carmel Mountain Road, allowing them to avoid the infamous Merge altogether. This bypass concept may be the most important change to these new northbound lanes. Motorists will now use the new bypass lane to access Carmel Mountain Road and State Route 56. Permanent green directional signs on both northbound I-5 and I-805 are in place in to direct motorist to the bypass lane for a smoother commuting experience.
There are also bypass lanes and an off-ramp specifically for trucks. “These new trucks lanes, designed by our partners at Caltrans, will help break the infamous traffic bottleneck at the 5/805 Merge and speed commutes," said Mickey Cafagna, SANDAG Chairman and Mayor of Poway. “But this is just the beginning of improvements to this critical Interstate. With two out of three voters approving the TransNet half-cent sales tax extension, SANDAG now has the funding ability to widen I-5 all the way from this Merge, north through Oceanside. During the next ten years, SANDAG will spend $2.7 billion on Interstate 5 to speed the commute for our residents.”
