Cal Oaks Road Closures Slated For October

Night closures will take place this month on California Oaks Road under the Interstate 15 bridge as a major overhaul of the interchange continues.

The closures are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 10-20, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., according to Pat Thomas, engineer and public works director for the city of Murrieta.

"We are hoping that it won’t take that many days," Thomas said.

The project, which started in the spring, will eventually allow for easier traffic flow by eliminating a left-turn onto the freeway. Instead, motorists will have access to a loop ramp via a right-hand turn. It will also widen California Oaks Road to six lanes.

New off-ramps are under construction and will be open by November, according to Thomas. A retaining wall had to be put in by the southbound off-ramp to protect the adjacent environmentally-protected area, he said.

Some bridgework will need to be done to accommodate the improved freeway access and widening, which accounts for the October road closures as crews prepare to move the traffic onto the new lanes and work on the old lanes.

According to Thomas, the project will run close to $20 million, for which the City is using stimulus dollars to fund large portions of. An $11.1-million general contract for the job

The project has been on the State Transportation Improvement Program list for 10 years.

It is still on schedule to be done in August 2012, he said.

"We did exceptionally well in securing stimulus funds for this," Thomas said during a previous interview.

The same can't be said for various other projects on the city's to-do list.

"Several capital improvements in process will be delayed as a result of the state redevelopment stay," Thomas said.

Those include the Jackson Avenue/Warm Springs bridge, the Madison Avenue/Guava Street improvements, phase II of the Whitewood Road to Keller extension, and the Los Alamos Bridge over Interstate 15.

"Plans are underway but we will not be able to enter into construction contracts until redevelopment issues are resolved," he said.

The California Redevelopment Association and League of California cities, two organizations Murrieta is affiliated with, have filed a lawsuit challenging Assembly bills 1x26 and 27--which city officials and staff have said violate the state constitution.