About Caltrans District 8
Caltrans District 8 covers Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in Southern California, which includes 49 incorporated cities.
District 8 is the largest of 12 statewide Caltrans districts and covers approximately 28,650 square miles of land. There are four interstates and 32 state routes totaling 7,200 lane miles within our boundaries.
Many individuals who live in the Inland Empire, but work in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, must commute on a daily basis and are therefore encountering congestion in the area. Congestion relief is the Governor's number one transportation priority.
The Inland Empire area is experiencing continuing growth. Commercial distribution centers are rapidly growing in the Ontario/I-15 corridor, bringing not only additional jobs, but increased truck traffic. Due to the high volume of large vehicles, truck lanes are becoming a necessity on major routes.
Interstate 15 is heavily congested due to tourist travel to and from Nevada on the north and the transporting of commodities coming up through Mexico and San Diego in the south.
High wind areas are prevalent on all four of the interstates. Wind gusts, especially on Interstate 10 in the Palm Springs area and on Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass, frequently cause high profile vehicles to be diverted or stopped from using these highways when gusts reach 55 miles per hour.
There is recreation year-round in the San Bernardino Mountains; therefore, keeping the highways open and clear of snow is a daily priority for Caltrans maintenance employees.
Even though San Bernardino and Riverside Counties are faced with many challenges in the area of transportation, District 8 with 1400 employees and an operating budget of $144 million, is equipped to efficiently handle them.