Bridge From Murrieta to Temecula's Ynez Road, Other Projects in Works

Murrieta City Council on Tuesday awarded a $5.12-million contract for the construction of the four-lane Jackson Avenue bridge over Warm Springs Creek at the city’s border with Temecula.

Construction on the first phase of that bridge is expected to begin no later than Sept. 1, according to City Engineer Bob Moehling, and two of two phases should take one year to complete. The project will also include the removal and replacement of Jackson Avenue pavement from Sam’s Club south to the bridge, he said.

The contract for the work was awarded to the lowest bidder of 10, Riverside-based AlAbassi Construction and Engineering, which recently completed the Guava Street flood control project ahead of schedule, Moehling pointed out.

Council members were happy the long-awaited project was set to begin, as plans for it date back nearly a decade.

“...Finally,” said Councilman Alan Long. “For those of you who have been around for quite some time this should have been done a long time ago...This goes beyond improving circulation and travel for our community, it is a safety element. The amount of cars it is going to take off the 1-15 freeway...The effects of this are going to be exponential.”

Murrieta Mayor Rick Gibbs echoed Long, stating that is was a safety measure to have that additional north-south route between Murrieta and Temecula. Following 9-11, he recalled having a conversation with late Murrieta fire Chief Phil Armentrout about the gridlock the area would be in if a disaster of that scale hit southwest Riverside County.

“The I-15 would be impassable,” Gibbs said, for families to reach their children who may be at an activity in a neighboring town, their spouses or to get home.

The work has been stalled for the last few years, Gibbs said, because redevelopment money set aside for the project was redirected to the state.

“And now here we are and we were able to find the money from other sources,” Gibbs said.

Funding has been allocated under the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, and will come from vehicle gas taxes, freeway and street development impact fees and the general fund.

As for the Los Alamos overcrossing at Interstate 15, which was previously approved by City Council, that work is expected to begin no later than Aug. 1, Moehling told Patch after Tuesday’s meeting. Click here to read more about that project.

Murrieta City Council also approved Tuesday some environmental measures it has agreed to take in the construction of the extension of Whitewood Road to Keller Road, in the northeastern part of the city.

Environmental concerns included a relocated habitat for burrowing owls, as well as archaeological consents to the Pechanga Tribe of Luiseno Indians should cultural artifacts be found during construction.

Moehling estimates that work on the Whitewood extension may begin as early as March 2014, and will take about four months to complete. The project, approved recently as part of the city's newest Capital Improvement Plan, would need to come back before City Council once more for a contract to be awarded.