Combined effort improves 'back road' to Murrieta

A new layer of asphalt on Briggs Road, seen here looking north from Curzulla Road toward Scott Road, has made travel on this route between Menifee and Murrieta much easier. Menifee 24/7 photos: Doug Spoon

Separate road improvements by the City of Menifee and Riverside County Transportation Department have made travel much easier on Briggs Road heading south from Menifee into Murrieta.

City of Menifee public works employees this week resurfaced Briggs Road south from Scott Road to just past Curzulla Road, at the city limits. The work eliminated several potholes and smoothed out the road surface for motorists using this "back road" to Murrieta. For drivers heading to Murrieta from southeast Menifee, the Briggs Road route is shorter than traveling via Winchester Road or Interstate 215.

Farther south, the trip has also been made easier by an expansion of the road where it crosses Warm Springs Creek, which essentially is a culvert under the road for drainage during rains. To locals, it has been known as the little one-lane bridge because of its original narrow width at the dry creek bed site. Previously, motorists heading north out of Murrieta had a stop sign to allow southbound drivers to pass over the bridge before they could proceed.

Thanks to a road widening project by the County, Briggs Road has been widened to two lanes across the bridge, eliminating the need for the stop sign for northbound drivers and the potential for confusion and accidents at the site.

That project began in early July and was completed in mid-September. During that time, Briggs Road was closed from Scott Road south to Baxter Road.

A view looking north on Briggs Road shows the expanded bridge over the Warm Springs Creek bed.