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December 4, 2009
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The Friday Flyer Editor
The long-awaited completion of “new” Newport Rd. is about to become a reality, according to Riverside Country Transportation Director Juan Perez, who made a presentation at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. The county successfully completed negotiations with the bonding company that had insured improvements to the road when Brookfield Homes and Woodside Homes originally began developing the area more than five years ago.
After Supervisor Jeff Stone signed an agreement on November 10 to settle the case, the county received $6.3 million from the bond company. Together with $4 million in Traffic Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF), the county now has $10.3 million to complete the entire final project, including the bridge over Salt Creek at Goetz Rd.
“It’s about time,” says outgoing Mayor Mary Craton. “For over a year, every time people have asked me when the road would open, I’d say ‘soon’ (and roll my eyes). Well, ‘soon’ has finally come!”
An extension of Railroad Canyon Rd., the route is a major thoroughfare between I-15 and I-215. The last time The Friday Flyer reported on this issue (March 20, 2009), Perez announced what was termed an “interim fix” in which two lanes on the south side of the new Newport Rd. would open, while leaving westbound traffic to travel on old Newport Rd. (which will be renamed Normandy Rd.)
However, as Perez announced Wednesday, “Extra negotiation time with the bonding company was worth the effort as we’ll now be able to complete the final widening instead of using interim solutions.”
Much of the new road is already complete as the developers of what was known as the Audie Murphy Ranch project invested more than $20 million in grading, roadwork and utility work, hoping to recoup some of their money through the sale of Community Facilities District bonds. However, land values had decreased steadily since the start of the project in the spring of 2005 and it could no longer support bond sales. The developer had planned to build more than 2,100 homes.
In addition, with the housing market downturn and construction slowdown, the project itself lost value, according to the developers, and it no longer was feasible for them to continue the project. New Newport Rd. was 80 percent complete at the time the project was shut down in June 2008.
The final work will be completed in two phases, according to Perez: Phase 1 is Newport Rd. and Phase 2 is the Goetz Rd. bridge over Salt Creek. It is anticipated Phase 1 construction will begin in March 2010 and be completed by June.
It’s necessary for Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) to relocate a waterline for recycled water and for final environmental permits to be obtained, but once waterline relocation starts, Goetz Rd. will be closed south of the East Gate entrance and won’t be reopened until the Phase 2 Goetz bridge construction is completed. The start date for Phase 2 is estimated to be August or September of 2010, with construction expected to last nine to 12 months.
Residents may recall the last time the bridge was discussed, a detour was planned for those exiting the East Gate and wanting to travel west on Railroad Canyon Rd. to the Towne Center and beyond. That detour is still planned and will continue throughout Phase 2 construction.
Residents may choose to travel through the community and use the Main Gate for ingress and egress; however, with the detour, those wanting to go out the East Gate – and drivers coming from Quail Valley – will have to go east on Normandy Rd. (old Newport Rd.) to Berea Rd., where they can then turn right and get back on the realigned Newport Rd./Railroad Canyon Rd. toward I-15.
“It will be inconvenient for our residents who use the East Gate to go west on Railroad Canyon Rd. but I recommend they go east on the old Newport and circle around,” says Mary Craton, speaking about the detour. “If all the east area residents decide to use the Main Gate, it will be a traffic nightmare – especially coming home at night. Imagine the backup on both Railroad Canyon Rd. and Continental!” Mary says she has asked the county not to close Goetz Rd. south of the gate until it’s absolutely necessary.
In the meantime, the rows of pads graded for homes along the Newport Rd. corridor have yielded to the erosion of time and the natural habitat of scrub and tumbleweeds – until another time, another economy and the vision of another developer tames the land once again.
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