 State Route 243 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway | ||||
 SR 243 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byCaltrans | ||||
| Length | 29.625 mi[1] (47.677 km) | |||
| Tourist routes |  Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  SR 74 inMountain Center | |||
| North end |  I-10 inBanning | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| County | Riverside | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Route 243 (SR 243) is a 30-mile (48-kilometer) two-lanestate highway inRiverside County, California, that runs fromSR 74 inMountain Center toInterstate 10 (I-10) inBanning. Known as theBanning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway, it also provides access toIdyllwild and theSan Bernardino National Forest. The road from Banning to Idyllwild originally opened by 1910, and was added to the state highway system in 1970. The highway was later also designated as theEsperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway in honor of firefighters who died while fighting the 2006Esperanza Fire.
SR 243 begins atSR 74 in theSan Jacinto Wilderness nearMountain Center,Riverside County as Idyllwild Road. The highway traverses north along a winding road through the community ofIdyllwild. SR 243 makes a left turn at the intersection with Circle Drive and continues throughPine Cove. The road continues through the forest pastMount San Jacinto State Park throughTwin Pines and theMorongo Indian Reservation before making a few switchbacks and descending en route to the city ofBanning as the Banning Idyllwild Panoramic Highway. The highway continues as San Gorgonio Avenue into the city before making a left onto Lincoln Street and a right onto 8th Street and terminating at adiamond interchange withI-10.[2][3]
Except for a portion in Banning SR 243 is not part of theNational Highway System,[4] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by theFederal Highway Administration.[5] SR 243 is eligible for theState Scenic Highway System,[6] and is officially designated as a scenic highway by theCalifornia Department of Transportation (Caltrans),[7] meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.[8] In 2007, it was named theEsperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway in honor of five firefighters who died while fighting theEsperanza Fire in October 2006.[9] In 2013, SR 243 had anannual average daily traffic (AADT) of 1,650 between Marion Ridge Drive in Idyllwild and San Gorgonio Avenue in Banning, and 6,500 at the northern terminus in Banning, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.[10]
A road from Banning to Idyllwild was under construction in 1904, and 12 miles (19 km) of the road was open by August, with an additional six miles (9.7 km) of the road planned.[11] Another four miles (6.4 km) were commissioned in 1908.[12] Theoiled road was completed by September 1910, and provided a view ofLake Elsinore and theColorado Desert, and it was expected to help with transporting lumber and stopping fires; because of this, the federal government provided $2,000 for the construction.[13] The road became a part of theforest highway system in 1927.[14]
A new "high-gear" road from Banning to Idyllwild was under way by 1935,[15] and two years later, theLos Angeles Times considered the road to be "high-gear".[16] Efforts to pave the road were under way in 1950.[17] The road from Banning through Idyllwild to SR 74 was known asCounty Route R1 (CR R1) by 1966.[18] By 1969, plans were in place to add the Banning to Idyllwild to Mountain Center road as a state highway; earlier, State SenatorNelson S. Dilworth proposed legislation to require the road to be added to the state highway system ifSR 195 was removed, as the two were of roughly the same length, but the latter remained in the system.[19] SR 243 was added to the state highway system in 1970.[20] The Division of Highways suggested deleting the highway in 1971.[21] In 1998, Caltrans had no plans to improve the route through 2015.[22]
On February 14, 2019, heavy rain caused severe damage to the highway, causing it to close for several months.[23] It has since reopened.
Except where prefixed with a letter,postmiles were measured on the road as it was when the route was established, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, seeCalifornia postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is inRiverside County.
| Location | Postmile [1][10][24] | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Center | 0.00 | SR 74 –Lake Hemet,Palm Desert,Hemet | South end of SR 243 | ||
| Banning | 29.66 | I-10 –Los Angeles,Indio | Interchange; north end of SR 243; I-10 exit 100 | ||
| 29.66 | 8th Street | Continuation beyond I-10 | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
