TRANSPORTATION SENIOR PROJECT
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Project Introduction
This project is based on a yearlong study where a team of 14 Cal Poly Pomona Engineering students evaluated an existing intersection identified to the team by Caltrans District 8. The team ultimately proposed a new design solution to mitigate current safety concerns and forecasted traffic operational deficiencies.
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Site Location
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Our project is located in the southwest portion of San Bernardino County near Victorville, Wrightwood and Riverside. Furthermore, this intersection is located in the City of Phelan at the intersection of State Route 138 and State Route 2.
State Route 138 serves as a link between economic centers and rapidly developing mountain and high desert communities in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. It begins at Interstate Fifteen near Gorman and terminates at Crestline. This State Route is a 4 lane facility that provides freight and recreational mobility.
State Route 2 begins at the western edge of Los Angeles City Limits and ends at Mountain Top Junction. This route crosses through the San Gabriel Mountain Ranges, providing access to rural communities like Wrightwood where visitors from the metropolitan regions can access recreational activities such as camping and hiking. During the winter season, tourists flock to Mountain High, the local ski and snowboarding resort.
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Existing Intersection
The exciting intersection is a T-intersection that provides two thru lanes in both the westbound and eastbound directions for State Route 138.
The State Route 138 provides one channelized right turn lane for eastbound traffic and one protected left turn for westbound traffic as access for State Route 2.
The state Route 2 has a channelized right turn and two left turns for access onto State Route 138.
Seasonal Traffic
One of the primary traffic related issues our team was able to identify was seasonal traffic, which was due to vehicles accessing popular recreational sites in the area such as Mountain High Resort causing backup along the SR-2 leading up to Mountain Top Junction.
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As you can see from the video bellow, the left turn movement from the SR-138 to the SR-2 is heavily congested due to this seasonal traffic.