Recent storm damage caused a hole to appear in the Hayes Avenue bridge, which has been blocked off to traffic. Valley News/Shane Gibson photo
An unusually small 18-foot-long bridge in Murrieta could cause a major disaster for residents living in the western area of the city in the event of a fire or earthquake. The issue brought quick action by the city council at its March 18 regular meeting with the rare “emergency declaration” to alleviate it.The issue surrounds the very old wood-structured Hayes Avenue Bridge over Murrieta’s Miller Creek which is collapsing with a gaping hole showing the creek below. The damage to the small 18-foot long 245-foot wide has been caused by the recent strong winter storms that hit the city in the last two months and perhaps years of neglect because of its extremely small size. Yet now the gapping hole and collapsed wooden beans showing below will not allow a regular 20-ton fire engine t
