NOTICE OF PREPARATION
Interstate 10 and Oak Valley Parkway Interchange Improvement Project
Availability of Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Date: June 23, 2025
To: Public Agencies and Interested Parties
From: California Department of Transportation
Subject: Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Interstate 10 and Oak Valley Parkway Interchange Improvement Project
In fulfilling its duties under Section 15021 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in coordination with the City of Beaumont (City), will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), compliant with Section 15161 of the State CEQA Guidelines (Division 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, hereinafter the “CEQA Guidelines”), for the Interstate 10 (I-10) and Oak Valley Parkway Interchange Improvement Project (also known as “the Project”). In accordance with Section 15082 of the State CEQA Guidelines, Caltrans has prepared this Notice of Preparation (NOP) to provide the Office of Planning and Research (OPR), responsible and trustee agencies, and other interested parties with sufficient information describing the Project and its potential environmental effects.
The NOP will be circulated for a 30-day public review and comment period that begins on June 23, 2025, and ends on July 23, 2025. Caltrans welcomes public input during the review period. If Caltrans has not received either a response or a well-justified request for additional time by a responsible agency or OPR by the end of the review period, Caltrans may presume the responsible agency has no response (CEQA Guidelines Section 15082(b)(2)).
Please provide any written comments that you would like Caltrans to consider, along with the name of the appropriate contact person in your agency, to either of the contacts shown below.
Vincent Lopez
Project Manager
City of Beaumont
550 E. 6th Street
Beaumont, CA 92223
Hannah Duarte
Acting Senior Environmental Planner
California Department of Transportation
464 W 4th St, MS 820
San Bernardino, CA 92401
Comments may also be submitted via email to Vincent Lopez at VLopez@beaumontca.gov or Hannah Duarte at I-10OakValleyProject@dot.ca.gov. All comments must be received no later than July 23, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
https://beaumontca.gov/1359/Oak-Valley-Parkway-Interchange
https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-8/district-8-news
PUBLIC MEETING
A public scoping meeting is scheduled during the minimum 30-day public scoping period, which began with the release of this Notice of Preparation. The public scoping meeting is meant to provide an opportunity for public comment, identify public and agency concerns, and define issues that need to be examined in the Environmental Impact Report. No decision(s) will be made on the project itself.
Meeting Details:
When: Thursday, July 17, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where: Beaumont City Council Chambers 550 E. 6th Street, Beaumont, CA 92223
PROJECT LOCATION
The Project limits on Interstate 10 (I-10) begin at approximately Post Mile 4.7 and extends along I-10 to approximately Post Mile 6.2. The Project also extends along Oak Valley Parkway from Desert Lawn Drive to Golf Club Drive. (See Figures 1 and 2 attached).
PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED
Purpose:
The purpose of the proposed Project is to improve operations and safety on I-10 and Oak Valley Parkway by improving traffic circulation along Oak Valley Parkway to meet existing and projected access demands.
It is to also provide multi-modal and transit accommodation by creating connectivity through the northwestern portion of the City. The Project is also proposed to reduce future Beaumont Transit delays by improving traffic operations. The Project purpose also includes improving existing and future goods movement along Oak Valley Parkway, an identified truck route, as well as improving commute times between residential communities and the commercial centers of Beaumont.
Lastly, the purpose is to meet the requirements of the City of Beaumont General Plan designation of I-10 and Oak Valley Parkway as major evacuation routes for the City and provide adequate emergency services access.
Need:
The current I-10/Oak Valley Parkway Interchange presents operational deficiencies needed to be addressed by this Project. First, the traffic exiting the freeway at Oak Valley Parkway, eastbound and westbound, is backing up onto I-10 during the peak traffic hours due to limited off-ramp storage capacity. Second, existing freeway segment at the interchange is experiencing recurring traffic congestion including transit delays and a high frequency of vehicle collisions due to volume of vehicles that have difficulty merging onto the freeway during peak congestion periods. The existing on- and off‑ramps do not provide maintenance vehicle pullouts or ramp metering at the on-ramps, and the current interchange needs to be updated to current Caltrans geometric and design standards.
Third, there is an absence of multimodal facilities along Oak Valley Parkway west of the interchange that creates a gap in the community bikeway and pedestrian network, forcing the community to rely on vehicular travel to access goods and services, resulting in an increase in overall delay.
Fourth, Oak Valley Parkway is identified in the City of Beaumont General Plan as an emergency evacuation route and areas west and north of the interchange are defined by CalFire as a high Fire Hazard Severity Zones, which needs adequate capacity for emergency service ingress and for egress during evacuation events.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with the City of Beaumont (City), proposes to reconstruct the Oak Valley Parkway/I-I0 interchange to improve traffic flow on Oak Valley Parkway and the 1-10 ramps. The Project will replace the Oak Valley Parkway overcrossing structure with a wider bridge structure to add additional turning lanes and through lanes and longer bridge structure to improve existing interchange geometry and implement traffic safety system improvements. Additionally, the Project will increase the storage capacity of the I‑10 off-ramps and provide High Occupancy Vehicle lanes and ramp metering on the on-ramps. The ramps would be reconstructed to provide a safe area for maintenance vehicles to pullout and provide California Highway Patrol (CHP) enforcement areas. Additionally, sidewalks would be constructed on the south side of the bridges and Class II bike lanes would be provided on both sides of the bridge. Four conceptual design options are currently being considered, including a Partial Cloverleaf Interchange, Conventional Diamond Interchange, Diverging Diamond Interchange, and a Single Point Interchange (See Figures 3a-3d attached).
REQUIRED APPROVALS
Approvals for the Project include, but are not limited to the following:
- Western Riverside Multiple Habitat Species Conservation Plan Compliance
- Federal Endangered Species Act Compliance (Section 7)
- Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
- Assembly Bill 52 Native American Tribal Coordination
- Clean Water Act Compliance (Section 401 and 404)
- Construction General Permit Compliance (Clean Water Act Section 402)
- Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement (Section 1602)
- Right of Way
POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
As required by CEQA, the EIR will describe existing conditions and evaluate the potential environmental effects of the Project and a reasonable range of alternatives, including the No-Build alternative. It will address direct, indirect, and cumulative effects. The EIR will identify feasible mitigation measures, if available, to reduce significant and potentially significant impacts. The following environmental topic areas are preliminarily anticipated to be evaluated in the EIR:
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At this time, Transportation related impacts are the only anticipated potentially significant environmental effects due to the project increasing capacity along Oak Valley Parkway; therefore, the Build Alternative is anticipated to result in an increase of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). All alternatives would result in an identical increase of VMT due to increasing capacity along Oak Valley Parkway.
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Title VI Information
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) assures that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and Federal Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations).
Caltrans will make every effort to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its programs and activities, whether they are federally funded or not, and that services and benefits are fairly distributed to all people, regardless of race, color, or national origin. In addition, Caltrans will facilitate meaningful participation in the transportation planning process in a nondiscriminatory manner.