55-Hour Ortega Highway Closure Set As Crews Work On Historic Bridge

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — The Ortega Highway (state Route 74) is scheduled for a full closure this weekend as Caltrans contractor crews continue retrofitting the historic Morrill Canyon Bridge in Riverside County.

The highway will be closed in both directions near El Cariso, between the Candy Store and Tenaja Truck Trail, from 10 p.m. May 3 to 6 a.m. May 6, according to Caltrans.

Drivers heading east from Orange County will not be permitted through the work zone. Residents west of Tenaja Truck Trial, including Ortega Oaks RV Park and Campground and the Candy Store, will have westbound highway access, and residents east of Tenaja Truck Trail will have eastbound access.

The $4.24 million Morrill Canyon Bridge retrofit is not straightforward. Built in 1931, the bridge is rare. Few of its kind were ever constructed in Southern California, according to Caltrans. It's a single-span, earth-filled structure with a masonry arch featuring rustic stone that appears to be local granite. The arch is approximately 30 feet wide and 8 feet high from the streambed below, though railing adds to the bridge's total height.

The website Socalregion.com features rare photos of the bridge. See here.

The Morrill Canyon Bridge was constructed, owned and maintained by Riverside County. By April 1936, the state took over jurisdiction of the Ortega Highway and its bridges, according to Caltrans.

The retrofit involves placing slab over the existing historic bridge structure and adding a storm drain outlet system with a rock slope in Morrill Canyon Creek, according to environmental documents filed with the state.

The bridge work requires approximately six "full route closures." Work began last month and the retrofit is expected to be completed late this year.