The Capistrano Dispatch
UPDATE: As of 7:49 p.m., Caltrans reported via Twitter that Ortega Highway is expected to remain closed in both directions between Reata Road and Shadetree Lane until midnight.
Two-lane portion of Ortega Highway, just west of Antonio Parkway, closed due to downed telephone pole until midnight tonight pic.twitter.com/z3ehWxm2Th
— Caltrans District 12 (@Caltrans12) June 21, 2017
Caltrans District 12 officials reported around 3:40 p.m. that all lanes were blocked on Ortega Highway just west of Antonio Parkway after a car collided with a telephone pole.
As of 4:14 p.m., Caltrans said via Twitter that it may take up to four more hours until Ortega Highway can be reopened to traffic. Commuters can still access Ortega Highway off of Interstate 5 by taking Crown Valley Parkway to Antontio Parkway.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Lane Lagaret clarified that it was a utility truck that hit the power pole, and the collision did not result in any injuries.
The accident looks to be exactly at the “Chokepoint”. Is that pole across the Ortega what Mayor Fergusen and Councilwoman Patterson referred to as a “Calming effect” when they voted not to remove the Ortega Chokepoint?