trail (road) closure

[krick3tt]

Post on a jeep site I often review for wheeling buddies. Talking about a road closure that has been postponed.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11 ... _10_06.prt

Anza Borrego detour postponed

By: QUINN EASTMAN - Staff Writer

ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK ---- The state Department of
Transportation has postponed until 2007 a construction project that
would have closed off one of the main routes in and out of Anza
Borrego Desert State Park for two months.

To widen a bridge on Highway 78, Caltrans was planning to close the
highway from Scissors Crossing to Yaqui Pass Road starting Monday and
lasting until the end of December.

Around 600,000 people visit Anza Borrego every year, and park
officials say the approaching winter holidays usually attract high
numbers of people.

"It would have been a mess," said Fred Jee, supervising ranger at the
park, on Friday. "It still is going to be a mess, but maybe not as bad."

Caltrans offices were closed for Veterans Day, but a notice is posted
on the department's Web site and a recorded phone message tells
callers of the new start date, Jan. 3, 2007.

To drive from Julian to Borrego Springs during construction, motorists
would have to take San Felipe Road and then Montezuma Valley Road
through Ranchita, a detour taking around an hour.

Local off-road vehicle enthusiasts said they bombarded Caltrans'
offices with outraged phone calls asking for construction to be pushed
back.

"They couldn't do that just before Thanksgiving and Christmas
vacations and not give full public notice," said Sherri Kukla,
co-publisher of San Diego Off Road Magazine and a resident of Ocotillo
Wells, near the Imperial County line.

The nearby Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area also
attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.

Kukla said signs were posted on Highway 78 but more should have been
done to let potential visitors know of the change.

Caltrans officials told her they were already working within two
constraints: the town of Julian's Apple Days festival in September and
an environmentally sensitive (and hot) period during the summer, when
bats nest under the bridge, located in Sentenac Canyon .

Anza Borrego is known for spectacular wildflower displays after wet
winters. The National Weather Service is predicting that an El Nino
weather pattern, bringing above-average rainfall, will be coming this
winter and last into 2007.

Cheers,
Morris