Escondido Freeway
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The Escondido Freeway is the easternmost north-south freeway in Southern California, stretching from the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains to central San Diego within 20 miles of the Mexican border. It passes through San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties. When constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, it was designated U.S. Highway 395, but has since been re-signed as Interstate 215 in its northern portions, Interstate 15 in all but the last few miles of its southern portions, and California State Highway 15 at its terminus.
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The Route
I-15 (the Mojave Freeway), after crossing the Cajon Pass, splits near the town of Devore. The western split, which takes an looping, indirect southward route through the western Inland Empire region, remains signed as I-15; the eastern half, signed as I-215, takes a more directly southern route. The former becomes the Ontario, Corona, and Temecula Valley freeways, while the latter becomes the Escondido Freeway. As it runs through the heart of the Inland Empire in and near Riverside, it is briefly co-designated with the Moreno Valley Freeway (California State Highway 60) before that road splits off near the campus of the University of California at Riverside and turns eastward. The Escondido Freeway continues southward past March Air Reserve Base, through somewhat less settled desert portions of the Inland Empire, converging with the Temecula Valley Freeway in Murrieta, where I-215 ends. I-15 assumes the name of the Temecula Valley Freeway until the San Diego County line, at which point the Escondido Freeway resumes as I-15.
The freeway continues southward into San Diego County, approximately ten miles to the east of Camp Pendleton's eastern border, and continues to Escondido. After traveling through Escondido, it enters the northernmost districts of sprawling San Diego, passes through the Marine airbase at Miramar, and continues into central San Diego. After intersecting the Mission Valley Freeway (Interstate 8) just north of downtown, I-15 ends and the Escondido Freeway assumes the designation of CA-15. As CA-15, the freeway then briefly ends at El Cajon Boulevard, restarts soon thereafter, and then finally terminates at the Jacob Dekema Freeway.
Notable Features
Increasing congestion in northern San Diego and the suburbs beyond has led Caltrans to experiment with high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes along portions of the Escondido Freeway. If judged to be a success, these congestion relief measures may be applied to some of California's many other clogged freeways.
Communities Served
Communities along the Escondido Freeway include:
- Devore
- San Bernardino
- Grand Terrace
- Riverside
- Moreno Valley
- Perris
- Murrieta
- Temecula
- Escondido
- Rancho Bernardo
- Rancho Penasquitos
- Scripps Ranch
- Tierra Mesa
- Grantville
- Kensington
Major Intersections
Freeways intersected by the Escondido Freeway include:
- Mojave Freeway
- Ontario Freeway
- Foothill Freeway
- San Bernardino Freeway
- Pomona Freeway
- Riverside Freeway
- Moreno Valley Freeway
- Temecula Valley Freeway
- California State Highway 78
- Cabrillo Freeway
- Soledad Freeway
- Mission Valley Freeway
- Jacob Dekema Freeway