Work to begin on SLO County road that washed out, stranded residents. When could it reopen?
Residents left stranded in some San Luis Obispo County lakeside communities could see repairs to roads washed out by recent flooding and storms within the next month.
The nearly 100 residents of Running Deer Ranch, Cal-Shasta and Tri-Counties neighborhoods who were left stranded March 9 when floodwaters completely wiped out a stretch of Chimney Rock Road south of Lake Nacimiento will have road access restored by April 24, the San Luis Obispo Department of Public Works said in a news release.
“Steep terrain, unstable soils, rising lake levels and a continuous stream of storms since March 9, have hampered repair efforts, and the break in weather means we will begin repairs on Monday, April 3,” the agency said in the release.
The area has been impassable to vehicles since the storm, when an 80-foot long, 50-foot deep canyon bisected the road following the second of two washouts in three months.
Residents in the affected neighborhoods were unable to leave the rural area by car, instead commuting to the grocery store, work or school by boats from the Lake Nacimiento Marina.
“This unprecedented storm damage is indicative of the fact that almost 90 inches of rain have fallen in this area of San Luis Obispo County since December 2022,” the agency said in the release.
The washout will be repaired in three phases, the release said.
First, the public works department and local contractor David Crye General Engineering Contractor, Inc, will build a stretch of temporary road upstream at a lower elevation than the existing road.
That road will be used to provide limited access to residents, construction and emergency vehicles only, according to the release.
Drivers are advised to exercise extra caution on the temporary vehicles, the agency said in the release, as the site will be an active construction zone.
Once a temporary road is in place, a one-lane temporary bridge will be constructed over the washed out area of Chimney Rock Road, the release said.
That bridge, which will be built by public works department and Souza Construction, Inc., will be open to all vehicles this May, the agency said.
One that’s in place, the county will begin long-term repair work on the road, according to the release. That could be either a permanent bridge or a large-diameter culvert capable of passing large debris.
Temporary traffic control devices will be installed to direct traffic in the construction zone during all phases of the project, the release said.
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 1:48 PM.
