Officials and local dignitaries in Riverside County gathered yesterday to honor the nearing completion of the Clinton Keith Road extension project with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. The much-anticipated $88 million project, as initiated by the County of Riverside Transportation Department in the mid-1990s, aims to establish a six-lane east-west thoroughfare from Highway 79 to the 215 freeway to accommodate growth in the French Valley and Murrieta region.
Upon completion, the project estimates it will service approximately 14,000 vehicles daily, with projections increasing to over 35,000 vehicles per day as it tackles rising traffic demands in one of California's fastest-growing counties.
The progress of the Clinton Keith Road project was made possible through several stages of funding from various sources, including the Western Riverside Council of Governments' (WRCOG) Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF), Community Facilities District, Riverside County Transportation Commission's Measure A, as per a news release.
For contextualization, the first phase of the project, beginning in 2011, entailed widening Clinton Keith Road to a six-lane roadway between the 215 freeway and Whitewood Road. 2016 saw the start of the second phase, expanding Clinton Keith Road from Whitewood Road to Leon Road as a four-lane roadway, with completion in 2018, as per The County of Riverside Transportation Department.
Following the successful completion of the first two phases on 2018, work continued with the third phase, this featuring the extension of Clinton Keith Road to a six-lane roadway with a raised median from Whitewood Road to Leon Road
Third District Supervisor Chuck Washington praised the project, saying, "This project will provide improved access to French Valley, Lake Skinner, and Wine Country for residents and visitors alike."
