Commuters rising up against Ortega fix

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Friday, April 15, 2005 9:56 PM PDT ∞

LAKE ELSINORE ---- Commuters need not wonder what will happen if the state shuts down a three-mile stretch of Ortega Highway one lane at a time for construction for the better part of two years, says Mitch James, a Lake Elsinore man who drives to Orange County every day.

All they need to do, James suggests, is recall their commutes of earlier this year, when rock slides triggered a monthlong closure all across the Cleveland National Forest.

"When they recently closed it down for the rains, my commute ---- which normally takes an hour ---- became a two-and-a-half hour drive each way," said James, who is among a growing number of Lake Elsinore-area residents who are organizing to fight the construction project.

The 36-year-old beer salesman, who moved here from Orange County four years ago for much the same reason as everyone else ---- the cheaper housing ---- said he had no choice but to drive to his Santa Ana workplace via severely congested Highway 91.

"Or, I would go all the way down to Oceanside and shoot across on (Highway) 76," James said.

Either way, the trip was miserable, he said. And James said he worries that the California Department of Transportation's proposed partial closures would be every bit as frustrating ---- and for much longer.

Late last month, the California Department of Transportation unveiled plans for a $27 million upgrade of a three-mile section. The project entails widening substandard 10-foot lanes to 12 feet and adding 4-foot shoulders, as well as straightening some of the more treacherous curves. The idea is to make it safer for motorists.

The targeted section between the Riverside-Orange county line and an old, narrow bridge over San Juan Creek has sharply higher accident rates than similar mountainous highways, Caltrans officials say. The Ortega, or Highway 74, carries 12,000 vehicles a day.

In the process of making the road safer, drivers would face 30- to 40-minute delays, as construction workers alternate between closing eastbound and westbound lanes. Work would get under way in fall 2006 and wrap up by fall 2008.

Caltrans officials in Orange County, where plans are being developed, said those delays would be nowhere near as bad as the problems commuters encountered earlier this year. Most likely, they said, the westbound lane would be open continuously during the morning rush-hour and the eastbound lane would remain open during the evening peak.

"It will have flagging operations, but that road will not close (completely)," said Sandy Friedman, spokeswoman for Caltrans in Irvine. "A delay is a lot different than being closed."

Still, that doesn't make James feel any better.

"I'm upset about it," he said. "I really hope it doesn't go through."

James worries that, if Caltrans proceeds with its plan, he will become a stranger to his wife and won't be able to coach his 9-year-old-son's Little League baseball team.

"If they go and do this, all of that stuff is gone. There is just not going to be any family time at all," James said.

James is hardly alone.

Arne Olsen of Lake Elsinore, who drives across the Ortega to a job in San Juan Capistrano, said he is concerned that his commute will become a nightmare, too ---- and for little benefit. Olsen said he would be more inclined to support construction if it meant adding capacity to Highway 74.

"If they are going to shut it down for two years off and on anyway, they should go ahead and widen it to four lanes," he said.

Besides commuters, Tyler Paulson, owner of Hell's Kitchen in El Cariso Village, said businesses will be harmed by delays.

"The impact on the communities of Riverside County is going to be devastating," Paulson said.

Paulson feels so strongly about the downsides that he hosted a pair of meetings at his restaurant to rally opposition. He said the April 4 and 9 gatherings drew a combined 100 people. Paulson said he has launched a petition drive to try to halt the project, and already has collected 500 signatures.

At least one local public official also is raising red flags.

"A closure of Ortega would be an economic disaster," said Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee.

Information about the project is available online at www.dot.ca.gov/dist12. Once there, click on "SR 74-Ortega Highway Safety Improvements."

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or ddowney@californian.com.

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