Sports
TRAFFIC ALERT: Ortega Highway To Shut Down Sunday For Triathlon
State Route 74, will be shut down from approximately 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday to accommodate the cycling phase of the Orangeman Half-Distance Triathlon.
Don’t plan to use Ortega Highway Sunday because it will be closed half the day as the Orangeman Half-Distance Triathlon gets underway.
The road, otherwise known as State Route 74, will be shut down from approximately 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to accommodate the cycling phase of the event that stretches from San Juan Capistrano to El Cariso Village and back.
The event is Orange County's only half-distance race.
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The Ortega’s closure for the event got a reluctant endorsement from the Lake Elsinore City Council earlier this year.
In a 5-0 vote March 27, council members agreed to throw their support behind the event, which was founded by promoter Go Forward Racing of Dana Point.
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Go Forward Racing co-founder David Flournoy told council members in March that he needed the city’s support in order to move forward with the Caltrans encroachment permit process. A five-mile portion of the event’s cycling phase is on the Riverside County side of the Ortega.
Last September the event was held in the same location, but Assemblymen Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) said residents in Riverside County were not given proper notice of the road closure.
“This is not a suitable road to be used for a specific entertainment venue,” Jeffries said after last year’s event. “The Ortega is a huge tourism draw for local businesses and a major highway with no nearby alternate routes.”
Kim Cousins, then-president/CEO of the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber board of directors backed the triathlon this year as a “tit for tat” to bring the event to “this side of the hill” in the near future. He said last year’s race saw 60 Riverside County residents participate.
Lake Elsinore City Councilman Bob Magee said the Chamber’s backing is the only reason he voted to endorse the race.
“I think this is a great event for Orange County. I don’t think it’s a great event for Riverside County,” the councilman said.
Magee and his fellow council members said the triathlon offered little benefit to their city, and they called on Flournoy to consider a Lake Elsinore venue.
For more info on the event, click here. http://orangemantriathlon.com/
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