
Who Fixes the Freeway? RCTC, Traffic Relief, Toll Lanes & Calimesa’s I-10 Future
From Calimesa Insider by City of Calimesa
May 29, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 72
About this episode
The episode discusses the responsibilities and challenges of managing traffic on major highways in Riverside County with insights from the Executive Director of RCTC.
Who is actually responsible for fixing traffic on I-10, I-15, SR-91, and other major corridors in Riverside County?In this episode of Calimesa Insider, Will Kolbow sits down with Aaron Hake, Executive Director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, to talk about what RCTC does, how transportation projects are funded, why local dollars matter, and why freeway projects can take so long.The conversation also covers the Traffic Relief Plan, the I-15 Smart Freeway Pilot Project in Temecula, express lanes and toll lane misconceptions, Measure A, Freeway Service Patrol, and the connection between transportation planning and habitat conservation through the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority and the MSHCP.For Calimesa and the San Gorgonio Pass, this episode also looks at why I-10 matters, what it takes to deliver interchange projects, and how small cities can make regional transportation priorities more competitive.Learn more:rctc.orgtrafficreliefplan.org
People in this episode
Host: Will Kolbow
Guest: Aaron Hake
Topics covered
- traffic management
- transportation funding
- freeway projects
- local government
- environmental conservation
- regional planning
Keywords
- RCTC
- traffic relief
- toll lanes
- Measure A
- freeway service patrol
- interchange projects
- transportation planning
- habitat conservation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Riverside County Transportation Commission, Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority, MSHCP
Places: Calimesa, Temecula, San Gorgonio Pass, Riverside County, I-10, I-15, SR-91
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