Raised median on Menifee Road is first step in road project

Workers were busy last week constructing a raised center median on Menifee Road next to the Stater Bros. market. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

The placement of a raised center median in Menifee Road south of the Newport Road intersection is the first step in road improvements at and near one of the city's busiest intersections.

The most eagerly awaited improvement by residents is the plan, announced in a previous Menifee 24/7 article, to reconfigure the eastbound lanes of Newport Road approaching Menifee Road, eliminating a bottleneck that has confused drivers and resulted in accidents.

The first step in the overall project, however, was construction of a median designed primarily to prevent left turns onto southbound Menifee Road from the Stater Bros. center, according to city engineer Jonathan Smith. The reconfiguration of the lanes on Newport Road is scheduled to begin soon.