Jason Hoppin, County Communications Manager
The County of Santa Cruz is pleased to announced the Federal Highway Administration has approved an approximately $4 million repair plan for a segment of Valencia Road closed by winter storm damage.
With approval in hand, the County must now determine a work schedule. Staff is currently negotiating with resource agencies over plan details to achieve the quickest possible timeline, and will provide an update when those negotiations have concluded. There is currently no estimated completion date.
The closure, which led to the relocation of Valencia Elementary School and impacted thousands of motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, was one of five priority sites identified by the County for immediate response and repair. Overall, the 2016-17 winter storms have caused more than $70 million in road damage at 170 separate locations.
The County thanks our partners at the FHWA and Caltrans for their attention to this urgent matter. The County also thanks residents for their patience, persistence and assistance in obtaining this speedy approval.
“This is an example of community partnership at its best – residents joined with our office, the Department of Public Works and state and federal agencies to make sure this happened,” Supervisor Zach Friend said. “Now we need to make sure construction is expedited, and we will continue to impress upon our partner agencies the need for that to happen.”