Quick Take:
The wet weather has delayed the plans to reopen Highway 9 in the Ben Lomond area on Saturday. Crews have not been able to make progress on clearing the landslide over the past few days because of safety concerns, Caltrans engineer Jake Bradbury told Lookout.
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This week’s heavy rains have halted progress on clearing a landslide on Highway 9 in the Ben Lomond area, delaying the road’s planned reopening date, Caltrans officials said Tuesday.
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Crews have not been able to make progress on clearing the landslide over the past few days because of safety concerns, Caltrans engineer Jake Bradbury told Lookout.
The agency, which oversees California’s state highways, had originally announced that Highway 9 would reopen on March 4, which is Saturday — an estimate Bradbury said was always dependent on the weather. Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski said the agency should have some idea Wednesday of the new reopening target.
About a half-mile of Highway 9 between Upper and Lower Glen Arbor Roads has been closed since New Year’s Eve, when a series of atmospheric rivers hit the Central Coast.
Caltrans workers have monitored the landslide over the past few days. While there has been no damage done to the slide, the storm has brought more debris down from the slope above the roadway, which will be cleared once the rain has stopped. Bradbury says the biggest issue is the rain has added additional water to the slope, which continues to saturate the soil and ground. This means that a permanent fix cannot be done until the slope dries out.
Once the road does reopen, Bradbury said the plan is still to have one-way, reversible traffic on the highway, which is likely to cause delays between Felton and Ben Lomond. Construction crews might also need to close portions of the roadway again to complete work in the future, he added.