County To Fix Temecula Wine Country Gateway Arch Over 3 Nights Of Road Closures

TEMECULA, CA — The Riverside County Department of Transportation is reworking the Temecula Wine Country Archway and has scheduled overnight repairs over three consecutive nights. The work began Tuesday and was slated to be completed by Friday morning, with a contingency for additional Friday work.

Starting at 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., the county will close Rancho California Road from Butterfield Stage Road to Calle Contento Road. Detours will be in place at Butterfield Stage Road and Calle Contento Road.

The roadway will be closed during these hours, except for emergency vehicles and residents. Anticipated completion is Friday, according to the Public Works Department.

Among other things, the work will fix the spacing design flaw that has flummoxed residents and visitors since November.

"It turns out, spacing matters," a spokesperson for the City of Temecula wrote in its announcement on Facebook. "Riverside County heard you, and the Wine Country Arch will be getting modified."

The all-metal archway consists of steel pipe columns and reinforced concrete pile foundations, spans 75 feet, and displays a "welcome" sign with the words Temecula Valley Wine Country. The sign itself has been under discussion since 2022 and had an estimated budget expense of $623,000.

The wineries paid the majority of the cost through their sales taxes, according to Temecula City Council Member James "Stew" Stewart, over social media.

Palumbo Family Winery owner, Cindy Palumbo, agreed in the Facebook comments, adding they also payed with "property tax and our 'beautification tax' and a few others. Trust me the wineries did pay for it!"

Design and engineering teams appeared to have thought of everything, from height to wind resistance to seismic stability. A 173 page report prepared by Leavitt & Associates Engineers, for South Coast Lighting and Design, out of San Clemente, shows the sign is rated to 96 mph winds, meets all building codes, and seismicity standards. What they didn't prepare for was the backlash of the kerning, or the space between characters and words on the sign itself.

Temecula, it would appear, has more than its share of writers.

Once erected, the new entry to wine country project archway sign was meant to serve as a welcome to the wine region. Instead, it became the frequent source of ridicule by residents who claimed "they could have designed or spaced the wording better."

Once erected, the comments came in, most regarding the strange placement of the wording.

One commenter suggested the vacant space on either side "makes her OCD kick in!"

"Love it- but by looking at the photo, wondering if it is tall enough for a Semi Truck or a large Fire Truck with ladders to drive under," a commenter said. "It's the main route to Lake Skinner Campground for RVs."

"It just looked weird," another resident said.

Now that the new sign is up, residents are again wondering if the word "Wine Country" doesn't look like one word.

Others just suggested we change it to "Whine Country" and leave it at that.

Related:

Temecula Valley Wine Country Archway Sign Unveiled In Temecula: Residents Weigh In