Hwy 78 Closure BACK ON!

[Ride-Orange 2]

Here is an email that i just received from Sherri Kukla at San Diego Off Road Magazine. The phone number to call Cal Trans is at the bottom of the message...

We just got word today from CalTrans that they're going to be closing Highway 78 leading into Ocotillo Wells after all. They are back to their original plan to close it completely for six weeks.

This will begin sometime in March, they do not have an exact date and they did say it is not 100% confirmed yet, but about 70%. They said the contractor refused to do the work with one lane open.

When we asked them about liability on the part of the contractor and CalTrans for injuries and/or deaths on Montezuma during that time because of not being willing to do the work in a manner that promotes highway safety to the motoring public they said they aren't forcing anyone to go to the desert and people can take the long way around on Hwy 8 or stay home if they don't feel its safe. He said it is costing taxpayers money to keep changing these plans and "taxpayers don't care how off roaders get to the desert." I told him off roaders are taxpayers too, but that didn't seem to matter.

I also asked him to cite another occasion anywhere in the County of San Diego that a road was completely closed down for repair for any length of time and the longest he could give us was

12 hours on I-15 at night, but as far as he knows dating back to

1999 he cannot recall any other road being completely closed for repairs.

Phone numbers to express opinions to CalTrans are 619-688-6670 or 619-688-2556.

[Ride-Orange 2]

Wow! No feedback from our brothers on the first message Here's the latest. Some of the stuff in this note should really get under your skin, like it did mine. Please send an email to the guys listed at the bottom of the note, I DID!

According to the NC Times, Caltrans will close Highway 78 on March 6 through the end of April.

Your help is needed to stop this from happening!

In December they agreed to keep the road open during the work but they now say the contractor will not do the work with the road open. CalTrans has been notified by numerous people over the past several months that closing Highway 78 anytime during desert season is dangerous.

If you have not been on Montezuma Valley Road, a portion of the detour route, you should know it is an 11-mile winding mountain road with an 8% grade.

A spokesperson from CalTrans told us last week that "taxpayers don't care how off roaders get to the desert."

And if off roaders feel it is unsafe to travel Montezuma Road with motorhomes and trailers "then they should just stay home."

Off roading is a 10+ billion dollar industry ANNUALLY in the State of California. Shutting off access to a desert area for six weeks during desert season has the potential to deprive desert off road business owners of 15% of their annual income.

The spokesperson was unable to cite any other road closure in the past 8 years that deprived motorists of a road for any length of time longer than overnight. This is an unprecedented method to do road work. The work is to bring a bridge up to code, it is not to repair a damaged or unsafe bridge. It cannot be done during the summer, when there is the LEAST AMOUNT of traffic because of environmental regulations. Apparently the safety of a bat is more important than the safety of humans.

Calling the public information office is no longer effective on this issue. We suggest you email opinions to the CalTrans District 11 Director, Pedro.Orso-Delgado@dot.ca.gov and the head of CalTrans, Will Kempton, Caltrans.Director@dot.ca.gov

[Ride-Orange 2]

Here's the latest as of yesterday:

THE FINAL DECISION

FEBRUARY 28, 2007

A press release from CalTrans

Aggressive Strategy Will Reduce Impact Of Closing State Route 78 At Scissors Crossing

SAN DIEGO – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and contractor MCM Construction have struck a deal that will greatly reduce the number of days State Route 78 will be closed to construct safety upgrades on the San Felipe Creek Bridge near Scissors Crossing.

The plan calls for closing the highway in both directions at that

location from Monday, March 12 through mid-afternoon on Friday, March 23. Barring delays due to weather, the bridge would be re-opened to traffic about

six weeks earlier than specified in the original contract.

“As a result of fine tuning the complexities of this project, both

sides have agreed on a plan that should work for most people,” said Caltrans

Deputy Director of Construction Armando Garcia. “In addition to maintaining a safe bridge, we get the construction finished within the

requirements of federal environmental law, and the public gets its highway

back in less than a dozen days.” He added that the closure will avoid spring break for most schools and include just one weekend – normally the most traveled days of the week for this stretch of road.

To carry out this aggressive strategy, the contractor will

work around-the-clock and receive an incentive of $500,000, bringing the total price tag of the safety upgrades to $4.75 million. The upgrades include work on the bridge abutments, rails and decks.

On the other hand, the contractor will be penalized $100,000 the first day and a subsequent $20,000 per day for the following six days if the work is

not completed in time. If the project goes into the last weekend of March, there will be an additional penalty of $120,000.

The detour for the project is the only available alternate route in

the immediate vicinity, and motorists should evaluate whether it is the right choice for them. Drivers are also encouraged to check a map to explore other routes to their destination in the Desert Region and beyond.

Either way, motorists can expect adding at least an hour to their typical travel time.

The detour will take motorists heading east toward Borrego Springs and Ocotillo Wells off SR-78 at San Felipe Road. They will then travel on to Montezuma Valley Road, to Palm Canyon Drive and Borrego Springs Road and back to SR-78.

Drivers heading west will reverse the detour – Borrego Springs Road, to Palm Canyon Drive, to Montezuma Valley Road and San Felipe Road and back to SR-78. For more information on this project and other state transportation

improvements, please log on to www.dot.ca.gov/dist11.