Union-Tribune
By Michele Clock, STAFF WRITER

The main road leading to Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino is a tangle of twists and turns that can bedevil drivers, especially when the road is crowded.

From August 1992 to April 2006, there were about 380 accidents on Wildcat Canyon Road. Some neighbors worry the road isn’t safe enough for them and the 16,000 people who drive its curves each day.

The county is trying to improve the road, but the $12 million project has hit delays. And, now, some people who live nearby say the fixes may not do as much good as hoped. One neighbor said drivers might use the straightened road and new passing lane to speed up.

The busy road, which cuts through the rocky hills of Lakeside, is the only route to Barona from the south. The county began work to make the road safer and reduce congestion last year and the project was supposed to be finished in May. Instead, officials are predicting a mid-October completion.

County officials blame the delay on many factors including rain, difficulty removing rocks, and changes to the design. The price tag is up by about $1 million, but is still within the range set aside by the county.

The road’s rugged conditions and accident record have landed it at the center of a debate over whether the resort should be able to serve liquor. Drunken-driving crashes on Wildcat Canyon have doubled since the casino got its liquor license, from five in 2003 to 10 in 2006, Sheriff Bill Kolender said.

Although some neighbors said they don’t mind a few months more of orange cones, piles of dirt and delays, others said they feared the project could worsen conditions on Wildcat. Barona neighbor Bob Coffin, who is leading an effort by neighbors to block Barona from serving liquor, said he believes a new passing lane will cause drivers to speed up.

“We all have this vision of these people who are anxious to get to the casino, going as fast as they can,” he said.

Coffin said he can picture drivers smacking into each other trying to merge after the passing lane ends.

Yes, cars could speed up, said John Snyder, director of the county’s public works department. But data from similar projects show that accident rates dropped, he said.

“If we had seen data that showed us the passing lane resulted in more collisions, we wouldn’t have done it,” Snyder said. “What we saw was the opposite.”

Snyder said he expects a similar drop in Wildcat Canyon’s accident rate.

As for the delay in getting the work done, county officials cited several obstacles.

In addition to rainy weather, crews had to stop work at times because of heavy traffic, said Bill Morgan, senior civil engineer with the county’s public works department. Crews found rocks in troublesome spots, and changed the design in some places, Morgan said.

Morgan said the Escondido-based contractor Wier Construction has worked diligently on a complicated and challenging job.
“It’s a very difficult area to be working on the road,” he said. “There’s a lot of traffic and a lot of people on the road. But we’ve got to do it in a safe and responsible manner.”

The project’s cost, which has risen from about $10.8 million to $11.8 million, will be covered by several sources. The Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, paid by tribes including Barona, Sycuan and Viejas, is covering $5 million. The county and federal governments will each pay about $3 million, and the Barona tribe will pay $1.6 million.

Wildcat Canyon Road

A project to improve the safety of a roughly mile-long stretch from south of Muth Valley Road to north of Blue Sky Ranch Road has been delayed.

Completion is now scheduled for October 2007, instead of May 2007.

The project’s $11 million price tag is up about $1 million.

The project is intended to reduce congestion and improve safety by straightening the road, and adding a passing lane, emergency turnouts and left-and right-turn lanes at two intersections.

The delay is in part due to rainy weather, difficulty removing rocks and periods of heavy traffic.

For more information, call the project’s hotline at 800-214-8565.

Michele Clock: (619) 593-4964; michele.clock@uniontrib.com
© Copyright 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Reservations