CANYON WORK: Railroad Project Canceled But Motorists Get Delays Further West

A Union Pacific rail maintenance project that called for closure of San Timoteo Canyon Road between Woodhouse Road and Redlands Boulevard for three days starting Wednesday morning was canceled before it got started.

Workers at the Union Pacific work site near Woodhouse Road west of Beaumont said the permit for the project got pulled at the last minute. The proposed project included under-cutting sections of track to restore trackbed and cross-ties loosened by erosion during the winter rain season, a site foreman said.

The road closure was also canceled, but there were still delays for motorists just before Redlands Boulevard, where a Verizon crew with two cherry-picker trucks worked on overhead lines.

And there were extensive delays between Redlands Boulevard and Live Oak Canyon Road, where Riverside County Transportation crews continued a repaving project.

The repaving of San Timoteo Canyon Road between Redlands Boulevard and Live Oak Canyon Road began April 4, according to work supervisors at the site and county transportation spokesman Ward Maxwell.

Until Tuesday most of the pavement removal and repaving work had been done at night due to safety concerns because San Timoteo Canyon Road is so narrow, Maxwell said.

The repaving work between Redlands Boulevard and Live Oak Canyon Road may be completed by this weekend, according to site supervisors. Striping and shoulder work will continue into next week, Maxwell said.

There are also plans to repave Live Oak Canyon Road from San Timoteo Canyon Road to the county line in the near future. Surveyors for the project were in Live Oak Canyon on Wednesday. That project is pending completion of a Yucaipa Valley Water District project, Maxwell said.

While canyon motorists faced delays, freight train traffic continued unhindered eastbound and westbound Wednesday morning and afternoon.