Elected officials and agency representatives gathered Dec. 15 at the Temecula Community Center for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of the next phase of the Murrieta Creek Flood Protection and Environmental Restoration Project.
The project is seven miles long and will provide 100-year flood protection. The existing channel will be widened over the entire length of the project and other features will include a wildlife habitat corridor, a 270-acre detention basin with 163 acres of wetland restoration, a 49-acre recreation park, and pedestrian and biking trails.
The Corps is now moving forward to construct the next segment of the project from just downstream of the First Street bridge upstream to about the Rancho California Road bridge.
The project is designed to prevent a flooding incident similar to one that occurred two decades ago.
Press Release