New Southbound Freeway Off-Ramp at Newport Opens

After a rough start Thursday morning, traffic was flowing well by mid-afternoon on the Newport Road southbound off-ramp. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

The new off-ramp from southbound Interstate 215 to Newport Road opened Thursday morning, completing another phase of the massive freeway interchange project.

The new off-ramp is located a few yards west of the old off-ramp, connecting with Newport Road a bit past the end of the bridge. This is to accommodate the looping southbound on-ramp, which is already under construction and can be completed now that the old off-ramp is no longer in use.

Motorists reported traffic backed up from Newport Road to McCall Boulevard in the exit lane of the southbound freeway Thursday morning. This was caused by a flashing red traffic light at Newport, which was dictated by CalTrans protocol for a new ramp, according to a City of Menifee spokesperson. Traffic signals were working normally by mid-morning and the backup soon decreased.

When the interchange project is completed, the Newport Road bridge will be widened and westbound motorists on Newport will enter the southbound freeway from a looping on-ramp on the right rather than the existing on-ramp, which requires a signal for a left turn.

The $48.4 million project is expected to be completed early next year, according to the city's website.