Finally, 'Dirt Man's Curve' will become paved railroad crossing

A deteriorating piece of railroad track sits at the edge of the crossing at Briggs Road just south of Matthews/Case Road. Menifee 24/7 file photo

After years of stalled negotiations, the developer of land adjacent to an old railroad crossing at Briggs Road in northeast Menifee finally has agreed to pay for the pavement project.

This isn't just any section of dirt road. It is used as a primary route by motorists driving students to and from Heritage High School, as well as to a housing development nearby. For years, the road has jostled vehicles over an inactive railroad crossing where Briggs Road makes a brief turn onto Matthews/Case Road before re-connecting to the pavement of Briggs Road heading north.

If the dirt hasn't been graded in a while, it's a bumpy ride. If it has rained recently, it's a muddy mess. But according to an agreement between developer Cal-Atlantic, the Riverside County Transportation Commission and the City of Menifee, it will soon be a nicely paved intersection.

The agreement is on the agenda for approval at Wednesday night's City Council meeting. The pact calls for CalAtlantic to place with the City of Menifee a letter of credit for $450,000 for construction of pavement over the railroad tracks and the rest of the dirt portion of the road, plus a remaining amount to be placed in escrow for a time in the future when the railroad crossing will become active again.

The City of Menifee is under no financial obligation for this project.

That portion of railroad hasn't been active in decades. Even so, RCTC -- which owns the railway corridor -- says it will one day be re-activated, said Jonathan Smith, city engineer.

"For now, CalAtlantic will pave over the area," Smith said. "When RCTC decides the railroad crossing is necessary, they will ask the City to release the money the developer put into escrow."

In a February 2018 interview with Menifee 24/7, John Standiford of RCTC said the hold-up in the project was CalAtlantic's apparent unwillingness to pay for the paving, as stipulated in its contract for developing homes in the area. In the same article, Smith was quoted as saying he would refuse to sign off on any new certificates of occupancy for homes in that development until the contract for paving the road was fulfilled.

Smith said on Tuesday that this action -- along with Lennar's acquisition of CalAtlantic around the same time -- led to the agreement that will be approved by the City Wednesday night.

"Lennar stepped up," Smith said. "When they bought CalAtlantic, they listened to the issues. Now things are moving forward.

"This allows residents taking their children to school to have a safe roadway. It completes another missing link the City has been working on with multiple agencies and developers for years."

The agreement requires CalAtlantic to give the City of Menifee the $450,000 letter of credit within 20 days of approval. According to the agreement, the "parties will work cooperatively to achieve plan approval within 30 days of execution of this Railway Crossing Agreement. CalAtlantic shall construct the Short-term Rail Crossing Modifications within 60 days of approval of plans, traffic control plans and issuance of the Right of Entry permit."

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