Caltrans plan to fully repair SR-74 and SR-243 in four months
Parts of Highway 74 and 243 have been shut down for more than a month and Caltrans gave further updates on repairs Wednesday morning.
The agency said they planned on fully reopening Highway 74 between Hemet and Mountain Center and Highway 243 between Banning and Idyllwild in about four months.
At a community meeting Monday in Idyllwild, Caltrans announced that in four to six weeks, drivers will have access to SR-74 from Hemet with an escort from 4 am to 7 am and 6 pm to 9 pm. Those escorts will become all day in about 12 weeks.
The California Highway Patrol also provided drone footage showing the extent of the damage on Highway 74 to show why it’s taking time for repairs. Highway 243 from Banning to Idyllwild remains closed after parts of the road washed away from the Valentine’s Day storm. The repairs remain extensive.
“I kind of describe the work going up there right now as a ballet of elephants, that we’re putting into a small mountain community in a very small area,” Richard Rusnak, a Caltrans geotechnical engineer, said.
Riverside County officials are stressing that mountain communities like Idyllwild are open for business with access available through detours from Highway 74 through Palm Desert and Highway 371 through Anza.
“It has everything you would want in a vacation spot, but they can’t endure a long delay in business occurring in Idyllwild,” County Supervisor Chuck Washington, said.
