Hwy 154 closed ‘indefinitely’ due to clogged drainage culvert near Lake Cachuma
Highway 154 is closed indefinitely between Santa Barbara and Highway 246 due to a clogged drainage culvert that is about 35 feet underwater near Lake Cachuma, Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers confirmed Monday morning.
Highway 154 is open on the Santa Ynez side, Shivers said in a tweet Sunday evening. The agency originally said the culvert was under 30 feet of water before changing their estimate Monday afternoon.
“We’re working to clear the culvert from under 30, 35 feet of water,” Shivers told The Tribune in a phone interview. “We have work to do in clearing that.”
The clogged culvert is near Lake Cachuma in the Santa Ynez Valley, and is filled with with debris — mainly large downed trees and limbs — washed down the mountains from the 2017 Whittier Fire burn area during Saturday’s heavy rains.
An 8-foot-high arched culvert is supposed to allow water flowing down the mountain to pass under the highway and into Lake Cachuma. But witnesses told Noozhawk it is packed with debris, and water is only seeping through.
The highway was closed Saturday between Highway 192 and Highway 246, and officials said at the time they hoped to reopen the road by 5 p.m. Sunday.
Also closed on Saturday was Highway 101 from Milpas Street to Highway 150, but the road reopened completely by 5 p.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published February 4, 2019 at 8:14 AM.
