Long Travel Delays On SR-74, 243 In Mountain Center, Idyllwild

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Repair and improvement projects on state Routes 74 and 243 this week mean partial closures and potentially long travel delays on both highways around Mountain Center and Idyllwild, according to Caltrans.

Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, crews began work along Highway 74 between the Cranston Fire Station, two miles east of Hemet, and Mountain Center. Roadway striping and paving are planned on the route until 6 p.m. The same project is slated to continue Tuesday to Friday, during the same hours.

Meantime, on Highway 243 between Mountain Center and Saunders Meadow Road in Idyllwild, crews are working to complete drainage repairs and slope modifications to prevent rockslides, generally during the same hours and on the same days.

Both corridors are two-lane passages, and Caltrans is closing a lane on each one in different locations, with flagging operations in place to move traffic in each direction at intervals.

California Highway Patrol officers are enforcing the closures. Traffic delays could be protracted, depending on volumes, according to Caltrans.

The work will only proceed if there's no adverse weather, and none is in the forecast.

The projects will be suspended after Friday for the holidays, with no work from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5.