RIVERSIDE - Commuters between Hemet and Idyllwild or the Coachella Valley face a long detour around a major washout on California 74 this week.

About 40 feet of roadway washed out about six miles west of the junction with state Route 243. Caltrans officials began repairs Sunday, but the road may be closed a week.

No local roads are available as detours, California Highway Patrol officers said.

Alternate routes include Interstate 10 and routes 60 and 243 through Beaumont, or routes 79 and 371, and county road R-3, through Aguanga and Cahuilla.

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One lane open on Ortega Hwy; Route 74 closure between Hemet and Route 243 junction causing lengthy detours

LAKE ELSINORE - One of the two road links between the Inland Empire and Orange County reopened today after being closed due to a pavement collapse caused by a broken water main, according to the California Highway Patrol.

But in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Hemet, Route 74 was severed by a major washout.

An embankment failed on the grade, west of the Route 243 junction, forcing a major repair job, the CHP said. Traffic was forced to taker a lengthy detour, either through Beaumont or Anza, to travel between Idyllwild and the Hemet area.

Just west of the Orange-Riverside County line, only one travel lane was open today near La Plata Avenue, Advertisement

Shriners Hospital for Children just east of San Juan Capistrano. Caltrans flaggers were ushering both directions of traffic through one side at a time, a CHP dispatcher said.

\"It\'s very slow going,\" she said.

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Hwy 74 Ortega Hwy expected to be closed for two days; Route 74 closed between Hemet and Route 243 junction

LAKE ELSINORE - State Route 74, also known as the Ortega Highway, was shut down today between Lake Elsinore and San Juan Capistrano, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The road was closed from Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore to the Nichols Institute in Orange County, the CHP reported.

The closure is due to a broken water main in Orange County that flooded the highway and caused the westbound lanes to cave in, according to the CHP.

Authorities also said storm debris is blocking the road.

The closure is expected to last two days, a CHP spokesperson said.

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ADVISORY:

The Ortega Highway has washed out, closing state Route 74 between San Juan Capistrano and Lake Elsinore. CHP officers say the twisting roadway has completely eroded away in storms.

State Route 74 is closed between Hemet and the Route 243 junction south of Idyllwild, due to mudflows and rockslides. The California Highway Patrol is on the scene and Caltrans is en route to clear the debris. The Indio CHP dispatch center can be reached at (760) 772-8900.