What you need to know about driving to California this summer

Hard to believe, isn’t it, that we’re closing in on the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff to the summer travel season.

It won’t be long before we’re setting the cruise control, telling the kids in the back seat to be quiet and avoiding the wackos who get in our way on the interstate.

All of us Southern Nevadans know that about one-third of the people who visit Las Vegas come from Southern California. It stands to reason that a lot of us will look to the Golden State for our own rest and relaxation.

SoCal is calling. The beaches. The cool ocean breezes. Beverly Hills. The gridlocked freeways.

I can’t wait!

So in honor of road trips to California, here are two questions about California from Warrior reader Celia:

“What is the large building under construction just outside of Primm? And what does X-over mean on the west side of Cajon Pass (‘Five miles no exit’)? Can anyone use it or does it mean two or more people have to be in the car?”

First, the building near Primm.

That structure, just south of the California-Nevada border, is the new California Department of Food and Agriculture inspection station. Someday it’s expected to replace the station near Yermo, Calif., about 100 miles south of the border on Interstate 15.

The new station is going to have multiple functions as an inspection station and a commercial port of entry and weigh station. It’s being built by the California Transportation Department and used by the California Highway Patrol and the Food and Agriculture Department.

Those who frequently drive to California and have passed through the Yermo station know that sometimes inspectors will allow you to pass through with a wave and a smile, but sometime traffic will be backed up for miles when the department wants to clamp down on specific pests.

Lately, there has been some consternation over quagga and zebra mussels, first detected in Lake Mead in 2007.

Philip Havins, public information officer for the California Transportation Department, said the commercial vehicle enforcement component of the station is expected to be open by August. When that occurs, you will see most commercial trucks pulling over.

The agricultural inspection component, meanwhile, is still pending. Havins said there’s no information yet when responsibilities undertaken by the crew at Yermo would move to the facility south of Primm.

Now, the Cajon Pass situation.

I-15 at Cajon Pass is undergoing a $120 million rehabilitation. There will be 50 lane-miles of pavement work, including building concrete surfaces for greater durability. Thirteen ramps also will be improved.

So what’s that got to do with X-over and no exits for five miles?

You, Celia, and most motorists will be allowed to use the so-called crossover lanes that will be in place during the project. These aren’t high-occupancy vehicle lanes in which use is restricted to vehicles containing two or more people. Crossover lanes are a flexible traffic solution to keep the flow of vehicles going during peak use.

Crossover lanes are designed to give maximum lane use in the direction where most of the traffic is.

Using historic traffic data for I-15 at Cajon Pass, the Transportation Department has determined when the northbound freeway needs more traffic lanes and when the southbound lanes are busiest.

Using a moveable barrier, the department can direct northbound traffic onto southbound lanes and vice versa.

If you’re northbound and you cross over to the southbound lanes, there is a five-mile stretch where you can’t access the freeway exits. That means that if you want to access California Highway 138 — and if you’re heading home to Las Vegas, I’m not sure why you would — you shouldn’t use the crossover lanes.

Havins said most of the Cajon Pass work is going to continue through January, so unusual traffic patterns are going to last beyond the summer vacation season.

Havins said the department used the crossover lanes for the first time on the weekend of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, and motorists responded well. But Southern Nevadans might be taken by surprise if they’re heading for Disneyland and are confronted with this California Adventure on I-15.

The important takeaway is to drive Cajon Pass at a slower, careful speed.

In work zones, the speed limit on Cajon Pass is 60 mph, and the California Highway Patrol will be on the lookout for speeding motorists.

SOUTHWEST ROAD WORK

Warrior reader Jana is seeing some progress on a southwest valley street — but not enough:

“Do you know when they will complete the short stretch of Rainbow Boulevard next to the Cactus Avenue train bridge? Las Vegas Paving Co. has a water tank in place and the road is plowed, but there is very little activity. Everyone living at the south end of Mountain’s Edge is anxious for this short stretch to be finished.”

The good news, Jana, is that something is being done. The bad news is that there’s no timetable for completing the work.

Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said the entire neighborhood around Rainbow and Cactus, just west of the railroad bridge, is in design.

That means engineers are scoping out the details of the project in anticipation of construction.

It’s not scheduled for construction, and Kulin said there may be some signoffs needed from property owners in the area or possibly the railroad.

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