Canyon Lake officials said the city secured $1,300,000 in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds toward a $2,500,000 safety project on Railroad Canyon Road, which city leaders described as a major corridor carrying roughly 25,000 vehicles per day.

Council member Dale Welty explained the grant will allow the city and partners to install lighting, turn lanes, low-maintenance medians, barriers and other improvements intended to reduce serious and fatal crashes on the corridor. "You can see the demands on the one road are significantly higher than the other," Welty said, noting that the corridor carries regional traffic between the 15 and 215 freeways.

Mayor Mark Terry said the grant covers more than half of the project's estimated cost, letting local dollars go further while delivering safety improvements. He described the work as a regional collaboration; Welty thanked neighboring Lake Elsinore for complementary safety planning and said the two cities will coordinate project elements.

Officials did not provide a construction start date, a final funding schedule or a contractor selection at the State of the City presentation. They said the project will focus on safety and low-maintenance features and emphasized that driver behavior remains important to reduce crashes.

City leaders noted the project is part of broader investment in local infrastructure and public-safety readiness but did not tie the HSIP award to specific local bond measures or new taxes.