Route to Idyllwild to temporarily close next week for boulder clearing

State Route 243 through Idyllwild will be closed for seven hours Wednesday to allow crews to remove rocks and debris that could tumble onto the roadway in the same spot that a massive boulder did earlier this year.
According to Caltrans, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, rock-climbing crews will be scaling a hillside at state Route 243 and Sunrise Drive to carry out removal operations.
“During the work, it will be necessary to completely close SR-243 between Franklin Drive and Sunrise Drive,” Terri Kasinga of Caltrans said.
Kasinga said the slope from which a boulder dislodged and rolled onto the highway in January is vulnerable to additional slides that could damage the highway and compromise motorists’ safety.
Crews will be carting off as many loose rocks as possible.
During the closure, motorists attempting to reach Idyllwild or Pine Cove from the north will be stopped and turned around at Sunrise, while those coming from south of the mile-high community will be turned around at Franklin, according to Caltrans.
State Route 74 will be available between Hemet and Palm Springs for motorists who are trying to reach Interstate 10.
On the night of Jan. 10, the 48-ton boulder crashed onto the narrow passage, causing a major indentation that prompted repairs to the two-lane corridor, which was closed until the evening of Jan. 13.
No motorists were injured by the rock.