Blank Freeway Walls Replaced With Local Designs - Press Enterprise

8/27/2021 Blank freeway walls replaced with local designs – Press Enterprise
___
LOCAL NEWS
Blank freeway walls replaced

with local designs
By DUG BEGLEY and SPECIAL TO THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE | The Press-

Enterprise
October 17, 2010 at 11:35 p.m.
Caltrans officials can see the writing on the wall.
Efforts to improve aesthetics and tie freeways to the cities
they travel through has led Caltrans and local officials to brand
walls with everything from Riverside’s signature Raincross to
silhouettes of mountains.
RELATED
Inland freeways to go au natural with less lush greenery,
Caltrans says
Second phase of I-215 widening winds up in San Bernardino
ON THE WEB
I-215 widening project
Landscape plan for Interstate 215-Van Buren interchange
The practice of prettying up walls started more than a decade
ago statewide, but as Inland freeways grew, so did interest in
incorporating them into their surroundings, said Caltrans District
8 Director Ray Wolfe.

https://www.pe.com/2010/10/17/blank-freeway-walls-replaced-with-local-designs/ 1/5
“I think this type of thing is here to stay,” Wolfe said. “Where
we used to put up a blank wall, we can’t do that anymore. No one
wants that blank surface.”
And unlike the flat panels used in the past, the designs also
deter graffiti, officials said.
Even textured walls, where smooth concrete is replaced with
panels of rougher, natural rock-like surfaces, are being pushed
aside by more intricate designs.
If walls are needed around the freeways either to hold back
earth at overpasses or places where the freeway is buried in
hillsides, or to divert noise from residential areas, then giving
them some aesthetic character is important, San Bernardino Mayor
Pat Morris said.
Morris, who smiles as he boasts his city has “the best walls,”
said adding local touches with designs such as arrowheads and palm
trees gives residents a sense of pride.
He said he received many calls congratulating the city on the
walls along Interstate 215 near Inland Center Drive, where images
of palm trees and mountains face drivers.
“People want to have pride in their community,” Morris said.
“What it looks like is part of building that pride.”
Kathy Garcia, 39, of San Bernardino, agreed.
“It looks much better than it used to,” she said of the revamped
I-215 through downtown.
Garcia’s commute to Grand Terrace takes her down I-215, which
she said has eased since the freeway widening project’s south
section was completed.
Team Effort
Caltrans maintains and approves all designs on state highways,
including interstates. But the styles chosen are almost universally
decided based on input from local officials, said Miriam Bishop,
landscape architect associate with Caltrans.
When transportation officials widened I-215 through San
Bernardino, large walls were needed to enclose the freeway and act
as supports for overpasses. Bishop said city, county and Caltrans
officials worked to make them blend in with the area.
Concrete is poured into a mold to make the wall designs, said
Jesus Galvan, supervising engineer for Caltrans in Riverside and
San Bernardino counties. The molds cost about $5 to $8 per square
foot, and can be reused, he said.
Arrowheads and vistas of the mountains were placed in the walls
along I-215, along with other designs. An underpass at Mill Street
features designs of a fountain.
“It is supposed to reflect the water and hot springs of the
native peoples,” Bishop said.
Galvan said the designs are included in the construction
project’s environmental reports, and the public has a chance to
comment. The goal of the designs, he said, is to appeal to what
makes the community unique, without offending anyone.
In the Inland area, Galvan said officials have not to his
knowledge ever rejected a proposed design, but have gone through
reviews and redesigns to make sure all resident concerns are
addressed.
Clean Break
One of the biggest gripes of residents, graffiti, is also
reduced by the walls, officials said.
“They do help limit tagging,” Wolfe said. “If all that’s there
is a blank wall, it would look ugly, but also it would appeal as
someplace to tag.”
The textured walls were used in part because they were harder to
paint, limiting their appeal to taggers. With the designs, Caltrans
has found the same situation, said Ray Desselle, the district’s
landscape architect.
“It does seem to cut down, but nothing is going to do away with
it,” he said of the vandalism caused by illegal painting.
The decline in tagging tied to the walls could also be caused by
the change in attitude residents have. If people have a sense of
pride in the community’s appearance because the freeway looks nicer
and includes local designs, they might be more likely to report
taggers when they see them, and notify officials when they spot
graffiti.
“This is where they live, and I don’t think most people want to
see (graffiti) in their community,” Wolfe said.
Stars and Stripes
Setting an appearance can also alert drivers to nearby
attractions and activities. An underpass at Third Street will have
train designs because of the nearby Santa Fe Depot, Desselle

said.
Riverside County officials are planning on a military theme for
walls and overpasses along Interstate 215 near Van Buren
Boulevard.
“The Van Buren interchange is the gateway not only to the March
Air Reserve but also the Riverside National Cemetery,” said
Patricia Romo, deputy county transportation director.
Consultants working with the March Joint Powers Authority, the
group overseeing redevelopment of the base, submitted a plan last
month to incorporate etchings of planes that have landed at March,
the insignias of the Air Force tactical squadrons and other
military-themed symbols into the concrete walls.
The designs, which still must be approved by Caltrans, are
sensible because that stretch of I-215 is designated Armed Forces
Highway, said county transportation Director Juan Perez.
Reach Dug Begley at 951-368-9475 or dbegley@PE.com
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8/27/2021 Blank freeway walls replaced with local designs – Press Enterprise

Blank freeway walls replaced

By DUG BEGLEY and SPECIAL TO THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE | The Press-

Caltrans officials can see the writing on the wall.

Efforts to improve aesthetics and tie freeways to the cities

walls with everything from Riverside’s signature Raincross to

Inland freeways to go au natural with less lush greenery,

Second phase of I-215 widening winds up in San Bernardino

I-215 widening project

Landscape plan for Interstate 215-Van Buren interchange

The practice of prettying up walls started more than a decade

ago statewide, but as Inland freeways grew, so did interest in

incorporating them into their surroundings, said Caltrans District

8 Director Ray Wolfe.

“I think this type of thing is here to stay,” Wolfe said. “Where

we used to put up a blank wall, we can’t do that anymore. No one

wants that blank surface.”

deter graffiti, officials said.

Even textured walls, where smooth concrete is replaced with

panels of rougher, natural rock-like surfaces, are being pushed

aside by more intricate designs.

If walls are needed around the freeways either to hold back

earth at overpasses or places where the freeway is buried in

hillsides, or to divert noise from residential areas, then giving

them some aesthetic character is important, San Bernardino Mayor

Pat Morris said.

trees gives residents a sense of pride.

He said he received many calls congratulating the city on the

of palm trees and mountains face drivers.

“People want to have pride in their community,” Morris said.

“What it looks like is part of building that pride.”

Kathy Garcia, 39, of San Bernardino, agreed.

I-215 through downtown.

Garcia’s commute to Grand Terrace takes her down I-215, which

section was completed.

Caltrans maintains and approves all designs on state highways,

including interstates. But the styles chosen are almost universally

decided based on input from local officials, said Miriam Bishop,

landscape architect associate with Caltrans.

When transportation officials widened I-215 through San

as supports for overpasses. Bishop said city, county and Caltrans

officials worked to make them blend in with the area.

Concrete is poured into a mold to make the wall designs, said

Jesus Galvan, supervising engineer for Caltrans in Riverside and

San Bernardino counties. The molds cost about $5 to $8 per square

foot, and can be reused, he said.

Arrowheads and vistas of the mountains were placed in the walls

along I-215, along with other designs. An underpass at Mill Street

features designs of a fountain.

“It is supposed to reflect the water and hot springs of the

native peoples,” Bishop said.

Galvan said the designs are included in the construction

project’s environmental reports, and the public has a chance to

comment. The goal of the designs, he said, is to appeal to what

makes the community unique, without offending anyone.

In the Inland area, Galvan said officials have not to his

knowledge ever rejected a proposed design, but have gone through

reviews and redesigns to make sure all resident concerns are

One of the biggest gripes of residents, graffiti, is also

reduced by the walls, officials said.

is a blank wall, it would look ugly, but also it would appeal as

paint, limiting their appeal to taggers. With the designs, Caltrans