EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) - New safety measures are going in along a stretch of Interstate 8 that one El Cajon city councilmember has called dangerous after years of crashes involving vehicles leaving the freeway.
Just east of the Mollison Avenue exit, concrete K-rail barriers are now lining the edge of I-8.
“The only thing keeping the cars from leaving the freeway is a 6-inch asphalt curb,” El Cajon City Councilmember Steve Goble said.
Goble said city leaders have been pushing for additional safety measures for more than three years.
In 2023, city leaders sent a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to improve safety along a roughly mile-and-a-half stretch of I-8 between Second Street and Magnolia Avenue.
Goble said dozens of incidents involving vehicles leaving the freeway have occurred over the past five years, often following collisions. Some vehicles have ended up down an embankment or in a flood channel. Some crashes have been deadly.
“The recipe is a disaster,” Goble said. “You have cars coming over the hill and seeing cars stopped on the freeway. There are cars trying to get on and off.”
ABC 10News has reported on crashes along the stretch and drivers’ concerns for more than a decade.
Felix Meza, who has lived near Second Street for decades, said he has seen four different vehicles fly off the freeway near his property.
Half of his back yard is protected by guardrail, while the other half is not.
“I don’t feel good about it,” Meza said. “It’s very dangerous.”
One of the most recent deadly crashes happened in May, when two siblings were killed after their Jeep went onto the embankment and caught fire.
Following that crash, Goble sent another letter to Caltrans. He said the agency responded and agreed to implement safety measures by the end of October.
Another two-car collision Saturday sent one vehicle off the freeway. No injuries were reported.
Goble said the K-rail barriers going in now are an interim measure, with a more permanent solution planned.
“What they’re going to do is install K-rails, which is the concrete barriers, for now,” Goble said. “In the next two years, they’re going to construct a permanent solution of a wall and guardrail.”
For Goble, the changes represent the culmination of a years-long push by city leaders.
“When the measures are finally in place, I can rest, knowing we have a safer freeway as a result,” he said.
This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and edited by a journalist.
