Recently in Transportation Category

Beaumont plans to close several roads for the Redlands Bicycle Classic races Friday.

The races through Beaumont and Cherry Valley will start and end at the Beaumont Civic Center. Workers plan to post detour signs around the routes, Beaumont officials said.

The following areas will either be closed for the race or will have intermittent closures:

- Oak Valley Parkway between Highland Springs and Starlight avenues. The westbound lane between Palm Avenue and Starlight will also be closed, but the eastbound lane will be divided for two-way traffic.

- Highland Springs Avenue between Cherry Valley Boulevard and Oak Valley Parkway.
- The southbound lane of Palm Avenue between Oak Valley parkway and Sixth Street. The northbound lane will be open. No parking is allowed on the southbound side.

- Intermittent closures on Beaumont Avenue between Sixth Street and Brookside Avenue. The intersection of Sixth and Beaumont will be closed.

- Sixth Street between Palm and Beaumont avenues.

- Orange Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.

melissa.pinion-whitt@inlandnewspapers.com

YUCAIPA - Traffic narrowed to one lane on both the east and west bound lanes of Yucaipa Boulevard as the construction crew from Ted Burton Underground, Inc. were busy installing a storm drain as part of the Yucaipa Boulevard storm drain project. The project extends from Adams Street to Third Street and is expected to be completed in March.

Traffic slows to 25 mph in the construction zone and occasionally stops do to the movement of heavy equipment and for safety measures, so expect some delays if driving in the upper part of Yucaipa.

Traffic advisory on Yucaipa Boulevard

YUCAIPA - The right lanes on both the east and west sides of Yucaipa Boulevard are closed off for road construction from the I10 Freeway for about 1/4 mile in both directions. Traffic is reduced to one lane on both sides of Yucaipa Boulevard.

Road work will continue until Nov. 21. So for Oak Glen travelers beware that during the morning and late afternoons traffic slows down and backs up considerably.

The posted speed limit is 25 mph. But most people we're speeding over 40 on Friday afternoon.

On occasion motorcycle officers are nearby with their radar detectors out, so beware.

YUCAIPA / CALIMESA - The little yellow gas tank on my dashboard lit up this morning warning me that I my Hyundai was close to running on fumes, so I decided to search a bit for the cheapest gas in Yucaipa and Calimesa.

Here's what I found. Both ARCO stations on Yucaipa Boulevard between Second and Third streets, along with the ARCO on Calimesa Boulevard near Sandalwood Drive all advertised regular unleaded at $3.37. And the Fastrip Food Store on the corner of Calimesa Boulevard and County Line Road was also selling regular unleaded at $3.37.

For those needing a car wash, the Shell Station at Calimesa Boulevard and Sandalwood Drive advertised a wash and regular unleaded for $3.31 a gallon. But without the wash, the price jumped to $3.41.

The two highest gas stations I found in upper Yucaipa were the Shell Station on Yucaipa Boulevard near Fourth Street and the 76 Station at the corner of Yucaipa Boulevard and Bryant Street. Both had regular unleaded listed at $3.49 a gallon.

And from my past gas tank-filling experiences, both of theses stations tend to have the highest prices.

Construction crews will be pouring concrete to cover a water main on Oak Glen Road near Bryant Street in Yucaipa for most of the day, a construction foreman said. The crew members say traffic drives by much faster than the post 25 mph signs.

Hats off to Chapman Heights

The kindergarten and first grade classes of Shirley Figueroa, and
Amber Kidd, perform for about 500 during Chapman's dedication ceremony.

YUCAIPA - The question: What do you like best about your new school? "My teacher," said David Kong, 10.

David's teacher would be the ever popular Casey Woodgrift, who teaches fifth grade at Chapman Heights Elementary. But David wasn't alone in singing Mr. Woodgrift's praises. Chiming in were David's fifth-grade classmates, Lauren Wright, 10, and Valerie Hall, 10.

They praise their teacher for being funny, for his magic tricks, but most importantly, "he teaches a lot of things that we (now) understand," David said.

On Saturday, David, Lauren, and Valerie served as tour guides in their classroom during a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting for the new school that opened on August 18.

Mr. Woodgrift aside, they agreed that their school is awesome, great, and fun.

But they weren't the only ones singing Chapman's praises, and admiring the state-of-the-art school, the eighth and newest elementary school within the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District. The school was built at a cost of about $24 million and currently has about 550 students in grades kindergarten through sixth.

About 500 visitors crowded into Chapman's multi-purpose room for most of the dedication. The multi-purpose room is huge - much like a medium sized gymnasium. It has a wide, well lit, stage. And on the stage several classes performed for a standing-room only audience.

Students sang patriotic songs such as, "Proud To Be An American," "Hats Off To America," and "Salute The Flag."

Between performances, Chapman Principal Andy Anderson thanked school administrators, parents, teachers, and the construction crews, who made the school possible.

But it took 10-year-old, fifth grader, Cleopatra Goodlin, to sum up Chapman best. "It's awesome," said Cleopatra, who previously attended Franklin Elementary in Redlands. "My dad (Mitchell Goodlin) said my school looks like a college. Yucaipa needs newer schools like ours."

Construction continues on the Interstate 10 Live Oak Canyon Road Interchange.See Photos Here

The freeway lane and ramp closures are temporarily in effect

The Interstate 10 Live Oak Canyon Road westbound on-ramp is scheduled to close, September 8-18, 24 hours a day.

• Eastbound Interstate 10 Inside Lanes Scheduled to Close, September 3-12 (excluding weekend), 1 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

• Eastbound Interstate 10 two inside lanes may close, from 16th Street to Live Oak Canyon Road, September 3 through 12 (excluding weekend), from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. The inside lane will remain closed until 11:30 a.m. All other freeway lanes are expected to remain open.

• Interstate 10 Live Oak Canyon Road Westbound On-ramp Scheduled to Close, September 8-18, 24 hours a day.

• A full closure of the westbound Interstate 10 on-ramp at Live Oak Canyon Road is scheduled September 8-18, 24 hours a day. This closure is required to re-align the roadway. As a detour, motorists can head west on 14th Street, then left on Yucaipa Blvd. and enter I-10 using the westbound on-ramp.

For more project information, please call San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) at (909) 884-8276 or visit the SANBAG website at www.sanbag.ca.gov.

Yucaipa no longer a quiet little town of orange groves and chicken ranches

Photo taken from behind the City of Yucaipa City Hall on Friday shows hundreds of roof tops where orange groves and open space once prevailed.

Remember when the north side of Yucaipa Boulevard was pretty much all orange groves and open space except for Yucaipa High School?

You old timers like me will. I moved here in 1979. After the sun went down it got pretty quiet. And driving on Yucaipa Boulevard was often times a solo and quite peaceful trip.

Now, I've at times been stuck in traffic for up to half-a-mile long waiting to get on the on-ramp at Yucaipa Boulevard and Interstate 10.

Yucaipa's growth has caused some strong feelings for and against development. Me? It's some of the good with some of the bad. I like more restaurant options, a new community center, and more shops to choose from.

But the congestion on Yucaipa Boulevard and on Interstate 10 to Redlands, I can live without. And let's stop with the golf courses. I think we've got about enough around here to choose from.

And I would like to see more affordable housing - for low to moderate income people - so that families, who are now locked out of home ownership because of high prices (and I still believe home prices are far too high for many people) can continue to live in Yucaipa if they so choose.

Bridge work moving right alonghere

A nice four-foot wide sidewalk crosses over the Interstate 10 Freeway, along
with some beautiful masonry work.

Construction work was busy at Live Oak Canyon Road and Outer Highway 10 South on Wednesday.

See temporary freeway, bridge and local street closures scheduled for bridge demolition and construction

Westbound Interstate 10 Closed at Live Oak Canyon Road, August 4-5, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Westbound Interstate 10 under the Live Oak Canyon Road bridge will be closed the nights of August 4 and 5, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. As a detour motorists can exit at Live Oak Canyon Road and turn right (Live Oak Canyon Road turns into Oak Glen Road), turn left on Yucaipa Blvd. and enter the freeway using the westbound on-ramp.

Eastbound Interstate 10 Closed at Live Oak Canyon Road, August 6-11, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Eastbound Interstate 10 at Live Oak Canyon Road will be closed the nights of August 6 to 11, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists will be detoured off the freeway via the eastbound off-ramp at Live Oak Canyon Road across Live Oak Canyon Road and back onto the freeway using the eastbound on-ramp.

Live Oak Canyon Road over Interstate 10 Closed, August 4-11, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Live Oak Canyon Road bridge over Interstate 10 will be closed between 14th Street/Calimesa Blvd. and Outer Highway 10 South August 4-11, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Alternate freeway access is available at County Line Road to the east and Yucaipa Blvd. to the west, with access across the freeway at 16th Street.

Northbound Live Oak Canyon Road Access to I-10 Westbound On-Ramp Not Available Until March 2009. Access to the I-10 westbound on-ramp will not be available to motorists traveling north on Live Oak Canyon Road until March 2009, when the project is expected to be completed.

Please find alternate access or use our suggested detour; exit at Live Oak Canyon Road, turn right (Live Oak Canyon Road turns into Oak Glen Road), turn left on
Yucaipa Blvd. and enter the freeway using the westbound on-ramp.

REMINDER: Live Oak Canyon Road at Outer Highway 10 South closed until August 4. Access between Live Oak Canyon Road and Outer Highway 10 South will be closed until August 4 for widening and realignment work.

NOTE: If you see suspicious activity on the construction site please report it to the local sheriffs department at (909) 790-3100.

Please follow posted signs and drive carefully through the construction area. For more project information, please call San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) at (909) 884-8276 or visit the SANBAG website at www.sanbag.ca.gov. SANBAG and Caltrans appreciate your patience during this interchange reconstruction project.

For questions and advice about big trucks and SUV's
ask for Mike Phenix at Extreme Cars and Trucks.

A sales lot full of big trucks and SUV's might be a nightmare for most dealerships, but at Extreme Cars and Trucks on Outer Highway 10, sales have been good.

Why? Because with soaring gas and diesel prices, big truck and SUV owners have dumped them for smaller, more economical cars and light trucks. And that has created a glut of big vehicles, which means it's a buyer's market for the savvy shopper, says Scott Corrales, who owns Extreme.

"I've been in this business for 21 years and I've never seen this kind of spike in how fast truck and SUV (prices) have gone down," he said.

For example, Corrales sited a black 2002 Chevrolet Suburban LT. "It has 26,000 miles and a lift (suspension system) that alone retails for $15,000," said Corrales. "Before the gas spike, that vehicle sold for $30,000."

The price now? "$19,900," said Corrales.

Corrales and salesman, Michael Phenix, see advantages in buying big trucks and SUV's for the buyers who need them. For one, obviously, the price has dropped drastically. But along with price, there is still a need for large-sized vehicles, said Corrales.

"Contractors, construction workers, lawn care (companies), recreational users who pull boats, toy boxes and travel trailers, and soccer moms hauling lots of kids, still need big trucks," he said.

So while many are shunning, trading in, or dumping big and powerful vehicles with low gas or diesel miles-per-gallon ratings, some are finding a huge inventory to select from. And often at extremely low prices.

And Phenix predicts that for the near future, anyway, the value of big trucks and SUV's will remain steady, and possibly even go up.

"When the market goes back up in a year, the big trucks and SUV's will be worth the same or more then, than what the buyer pays now," said Phenix.

With the price of diesel hovering at or above $5 a gallon, many motorists have shied away from buying diesel-powered vehicles. But diesel has its advantages, said Corrales.

"You get better mileage overall, and with the length of life of a diesel engine, it is still the better buy," he said. "A diesel motor will last at least five times longer than a gas motor. I know of a Ford F250 diesel truck with 800,000 miles on it."

So if you need power and size, "now is the time to buy a truck," said Corrales.

Extreme Cars and Trucks is located 12665 18th Street off Outer Highway 10 about a mile east of Yucaipa Boulevard. Call (909) 794-7385 for more information.

East bound traffic exiting off the Interstate 10 Freeway at the Yucaipa Boulevard off ramp was backed up and stopped on the freeway at 4:15 p.m., Monday, creating a dangerous potential for accidents.

The increase in vehicles exiting the off ramp is in large part due to closure of the Interstate 10 / Oak Glen Road off ramp, while bridge work continues.

Have you had a harrowing experience while stopped on the I10? Have you some remedy for avoiding this situation, such as an alternate route that gets you home quicker and safer? If so, please comment and share?

From helmets to boots, this Calimesa motorcycle accessory store has it all

With the high cost of gasoline, some motorists are turning to two wheel transportation. For motorcyclists, Buckle & Belts in Calimesa, offers a full line of mortorcycle parts and accessories, including helmets, boots and shoes, and patches. "We've got all the apparel, and we can sew patches on jackets, vests and shirts," said Sue Pauer, who has owned the store at 1007 Calimesa Boulevard for eight years, but she has been in the business for 18 years.

18th Street undergoing road work

Be advised that 18th Street south from Yucaipa Boulevard to Avenue E is closed to through traffic for most of the day while a road construction crew fills in, compacts, and covers a sewer line trench with asphalt.

Travelers or residents needing to reach Avenue E, should take the alternate route of 17th Street south to Avenue E. Avenue E is open both east and west.