Progress Picking Up In Highway 74 Repair

IDYLLWILD -The closure of state Route 74, resulting from the post-fire erosion that destroyed a section of the road between Hemet and Mountain Center, has cut off one of three paved routes to the homes of about 3,500 residents in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Residents of Idyllwild and Pine Cove are hoping to see the road repaired and open for travel by the end of this week or sooner.

Heavy rains last weekend triggered flows down slopes burned by the Cottonwood Fire in August. Runoff, mud and boulders destroyed a section of the 74 west of its junction with state Route 243.

Caltrans was expected this week to issue an emergency contract, and work was expected to be complete in four to five days, Caltrans District 8 spokeswoman Shelli Lombardo told the Idyllwild Town Crier.

The 74 is one of three paved roads to the towns of Idyllwild and Pine Cove in the San Jacinto Mountains, the second-highest range in Southern California. The towns are around 5,400 feet above sea level, and the summit of Mount San Jacinto is twice as high, at 10,834 feet.