Ortega Highway Closing For 55 Hours Beginning Nov. 18: What To Know

NOV. 17, 2022 UPDATE: 55-Hour Weekend Closure Of Ortega Highway Canceled

Original post:

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — A full 55-hour weekend closure of Ortega Highway is scheduled for mid-November, according to Caltrans District 8.

Weather permitting, the full shutdown will begin at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, and last through 4 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21 — from Monte Vista Street near Lake Elsinore to the Riverside County/Orange County line — the state agency said.

Decker Canyon and Long Canyon residents will be given access via a pilot car to and from Lake Elsinore. There will be no access from Decker Canyon and Long Canyon to Orange County, according to Caltrans.

All residents on Tenaja Truck Trail, or west of Tenaja Truck Trail, including the Ortega Oaks RV Park and Campground and the Candy Store, will be given access via a pilot car to and from Lake Elsinore. No access will be given from these communities to Orange County, Caltrans said.

The highway closure is needed as part of ongoing construction work on the SR-74 Ortega Highway Widening Project. The $60 million project, designed to make the highway safer, is expected to be completed in spring 2025. The work includes widening existing lanes and shoulders, and adding ground-in rumble strips on the shoulders and in a 2-foot-wide median from the Riverside County/Orange County line to Monte Vista Street.