City, County say developer to blame for 'Dirt Man's Curve'

City of Menifee and Riverside County officials say it is CalAtlantic's responsibility to pave this stretch of road. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

One might call it "Dirt Man’s Curve." Locals often describe it in more colorful terms.

It’s an L-shaped roadway in northeast Menifee, where the pavement ends and Briggs Road becomes a bumpy stretch of dirt road that leads motorists into a right turn onto Matthews Road for less than 50 yards before the pavement resumes. Many motorists then immediately turn left to head north once again on Briggs Road toward Heritage High School.

For years, residents have been complaining about Dirt Man’s Curve. It’s bad enough that the dirt road is chopped up by the frequent traffic, resulting in a bumpy ride over an abandoned railroad crossing and around a sharp corner through more bumps in the road. When it rains, the road floods.

As Menifee has grown and traffic between the Heritage Lake community and Heritage High School has increased, the cries for action have intensified. Why, people ask, is it so difficult to get that short portion of road paved?

Having a railroad easement running through the area complicates the issue, but an official with the Riverside County Transportation Commission says the years-long delay in paving the road can be attributed to a residential developer.

John Standiford of the RCTC told Menifee 24/7 he is in regular contact with the project manager of Heritage Lake residential development for CalAtlantic Homes, which is obligated to pave the road as a condition of its development agreement. So far, he said, CalAtlantic has not agreed to fulfill that obligation.

Standiford said the Railroad retains rights to the railway easement, which means there will always be a right of way for tracks crossing Briggs Road at that point. However, he said that does not prevent the County from paving the road once CalAtlantic comes up with the required funds to pay for it.

Brian Jacobson, the project manager for the Heritage Lake project at CalAtlantic, referred media inquiries to the corporate office. That office has not responded to a Menifee 24/7 inquiry about its lack of action in the paving project.

Like Standiford, the Menifee city engineer and head of public works said he has been unable to get anywhere with Jacobson on the paving agreement. According to Jonathan Smith, the original developer agreement was made with Riverside County before Menifee was incorporated. Although CalAtlantic agreed to pave that stretch of road, neither a dollar amount nor a deadline was specified.

What can the City of Menifee do to enforce that part of the development agreement? Smith says he will not sign off on certificates of occupancy for any of the additional homes CalAtlantic plans until the road is paved.