Crews face busy summer repairing winter storm damage to Santa Cruz mountain roads
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY – After being inundated by rain and wind over the winter, crews in Santa Cruz County will be working virtually nonstop this summer to repair damage left behind by those storms.
"We have slides on either side of the road that we live on. And the challenge for us right here is Highway 9 is our only access -- in or out," said Brett Johanson who lives near a road closure on Highway 9 in Ben Lomond.
A massive mudslide clawed out a chunk of the road. Caltrans crews are working to build a new retaining wall and stabilize the road.
A spokesperson for the transit agency said they've budgeted $27 million in emergency repairs for Santa Cruz County. That's on top of the estimated $75 million in damage caused to county roads throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains.
"We are still working on some repairs from 2017 to be honest. So, some of these will take a long time. But we do feel good about where we are now. We do hope to see a lot of activity, especially over the summer, because we want to get a lot of those projects done before the next rainy season," county spokesperson Jason Hoppin told KPIX.
Hoppin said the road work and repairs could not begin in earnest until it stopped raining and things began to dry out. He said work crews will trying to make as many repairs as possible before the next rainy season begins.
"As a mountain resident, sure I want everything fixed as quickly as possible. The major arteries need to be addressed most urgently but I'm at least somewhat understanding and patient about it," Johanson said.