Ceremony Marks Completion of Devore, Cajon Pass Projects

San Bernardino County celebrated a major milestone May 20 with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of the Cajon Pass Rehabilitation and Devore Interchange projects, months ahead of schedule. Members of the community, the men and women on the teams who made the projects possible and state, local and federal officials all gathered outside Tony’s Diner on historic Route 66, now known as Cajon Boulevard, to commemorate the completion of the two transportation projects. A classic car show provided by Over the Hill Gang of San Bernardino surrounded the canopy under which the crowd gathered to listen to speeches from San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis and Director for the California Department of Transportation Malcolm Dougherty, among numerous others from the federal, state and local level. The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department led the presentation of the colors to kick off the event, while students from Kimbark Elementary School led the audience with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “This is a very important day,” said Dougherty, the first to speak to the crowd during the event. “I remember when we were here three years ago and that was a very important day, to mark getting to that point where we could start construction, but today is an even better day because not only do we mark the completion of the construction effort, but we also symbolically mark the delivery of that transportation to the people who use that transportation system.” The construction for the projects began in 2012, after plans first began to develop around 2008, according to Jesus Paez, project manager. The Cajon Pass Rehabilitation Project, contracted by Coffman/Parsons, focused on the reconstruction of a 50-mile stretch between the Kenwood Avenue exit ramp on Interstate 15 and two miles south of U.S. Highway 395 in San Bernardino County. With a high congestion rate (150,000 vehicles per day) and overused, rapidly aging pavement built in the 1970s with a dire need for repair, Caltrans District 8 took on the project in 2012 and used a design-build delivery method to patch up areas of asphalt concrete and update safety features. With a budget of $121 million, the project was completed a full two years ahead of schedule. “Hats off to you, San Bernardino County,” said Jim Frazier, assemblymember and transportation committee chair for the 11th District (D-CA), to the audience during the event. “You are a role model in this state, and you are not going unnoticed.” The Devore Interchange Project, a joint effort from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG), contracted by Atkinson, aimed to fix the severe bottleneck problem where Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 connected. With one million vehicles and 150,000 trucks traveling through weekly, the interchange is an important economical key not only for the San Bernardino County, but also for the entire Southern California region. With a $324 million budget and 18 months left in the contract to spare, the project added two miles of truck by-pass lanes in each direction, one general use lane in each direction to reduce congestion and allowed for the reconnection of Cajon Boulevard between Kenwood Avenue and Devore Road/Glen Helen Parkway. This not only provides an alternate route for people traveling through Devore. It also means the reconnection of historic Route 66, which used to be where Cajon Boulevard is now. “We need to look back at that history and see how we can use it for economic development,” said Cheryl R. Brown, assemblymember for the 47th District (D-CA) in her speech to the crowd. Throughout the speeches from the officials, there were two common themes: the outstanding efforts put forth by San Bernardino County to make these projects possible, and the economic possibilities these projects will open up for the region. “I want to put a finer point on how important this corridor is to the entire Southern California region, but also to the entire United States, given the amount of goods that move through this corridor from California ports to ports eastward,” Dougherty said. David S. Kim, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, said the projects will help to secure the future of transportation in the county as the economy grows, and that safety is additionally improved. “These benefits are going to be felt throughout not just San Bernardino, but all through Southern California for generations to come,” Kim said. San Bernardino Mayor R. Carey Davis thanked everyone for coming out to the event, and for the people in the community, Caltrans, SANBAG and others who made the completion of the projects possible. “We talked about quality of life, and that’s what it’s all about,” said Chief Bill Dance, Inland Division commander for the California Highway Patrol, who gave the closing remarks for the event. The event finished with the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon and a classic car drive to commemorate the reconnecting of Route 66, where officials were able to ride with the owners of the classic cars down Cajon Boulevard on the “first drive” since the reconnection was complete. “Being a Rialto native myself and living most of my life in this area, I can personally tell you that the completion of both of these projects is a wonderful milestone for our region, especially for Devore, Fontana, Rialto and San Bernardino residents, as well as the high desert folks who travel through this pass on a daily basis to get to school, to get to work and to attend recreational activities,” said Lacey Kendall from CSUSB Coyote Radio, KCAL FM and KOLA 99.9. “Thank you to all the men and women who made both of these projects possible to keep us moving through the pass.” A full list of event speakers: Malcolm Dougherty, director of the California Department of Transportation Pete Aguilar, U.S. representative for the 31st Congressional District of California David S. Kim, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration Jim Frazier, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee and assemblymember for the 11th District Cheryl R. Brown, assemblymember for the 47th district Marc Steinorth, assemblymember for the 40th district Fran Inman, commissioner on the California Transportation Commission Ryan McEachron, president for the San Bernardino Associated Governments Board of Directors Robert Lovingood, 1st District supervisor for the County of San Bernardino R. Carey Davis, mayor for the City of San Bernardino Bill Dance, chief and Inland Division commander for the California Highway Patrol A full list of the federal, state and local agencies recognized for their partnerships: Federal Highway Administration U.S. Forest Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers California Highway Patrol Cal Fire California Department of Fish and Wildlife San Bernardino Associated Governments San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department County of San Bernardino San Bernardino City Unified School District San Bernardino County Fire Department City of San Bernardino Devore Rural Protection Agency