Roadwork could result in traffic jams heading to Liberty HS

Map shows the primary east-west routes leading to Liberty High. Garbani Road will be closed until mid-October.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Liberty High School opens its doors for the first time on Aug. 4. Although finishing touches on the $160 million project are yet to be completed, school and district officials say they are ready to begin providing quality education to students at the state-of-the-art facility.

Ongoing construction and landscaping projects are not expected to interfere with students’ first-week experience, according to district officials. Getting to and from the school may be a challenge in the first few weeks, however.

Because of its location east of the City of Menifee boundary in a rural area, access to the school is limited. Moreover, road work on two of the main entry points to the school will not be completed until several weeks after the start of the school year, if not longer, according to a Riverside County spokesperson.

The three primary routes leading eastward to Liberty High from Menifee are Garbani Road (most direct route), Scott Road (southerly route), and Holland Road (northerly route). All three are two-lane roads and currently have no traffic signals at their intersections with Leon Road, where the school is located. Leon Road also is only a two-lane road running north and south between those roads.

Compounding the problem, Garbani Road is closed from Briggs Road (the Menifee border) east to Leon Road (see photo below). Road improvements are being made in front of two housing developments being built by Richmond American Homes. Seasons Ranch at Braverde and Liberty at Braverde will offer a community of ranch-style homes bordered by Garbani Road to the north and Wickerd Road to the south.

While crews perform road improvements at the site, Garbani Road will be closed until mid-October, said Brooke Federico, public information officer for Riverside County.

As an alternate, motorists can travel east on Holland Road all the way through to Leon Road, then turn right to head south past the Garbani intersection to the school. Although the farthest east-west route from the school, Holland Road provides the most direct route under the current conditions.

Wickerd Road, which runs along the south border of the housing development, recently was paved from Briggs Road eastward toward Leon Road. A 500-foot stretch still closed for construction work adjacent to the school “should be done by the time school opens,” Federico said.

To access that stretch of Wickerd Road from the north, motorists must turn off Garbani Road onto a dirt section of the Briggs Road extension that is a few hundred yards west of the paved section of Briggs. Taking that dirt road south will connect one to Wickerd Road for a left turn onto the newly paved street.

Otherwise, the other access is via Scott Road and a left turn onto Leon Road to head north to the school. Traffic is moving slowly approaching that intersection this week (see photo below) as crews work to widen the road and accommodate a left turn lane.

A traffic signal is planned to replace the four-way stop at that intersection and previously was expected to be completed in time for the opening of school. But according to Federico, the start of the $1.79 million signal project was delayed pending the approval of a funding agreement involving Riverside County ($300,000), the City of Menifee ($230,000), Perris Union School District ($692,650), Brookfield Residential ($406,350), and Beazer Homes ($165,000). That agreement was scheduled for approval by the County Board of Supervisors today, and work on the signal project is scheduled to begin next week, Federico said.

Meanwhile, those traveling to Liberty High in the mornings are urged to leave plenty of time to deal with the traffic, and patience will be required in the after-school traffic as well. Even when Garbani Road reopens, there will not be a traffic signal at Garbani and Leon. Federico said that is not in the plans at this time.

Candace Reines, deputy superintendent of the Perris Union High School District, said the district will provide traffic control at the Scott/Leon intersection for the time being.