By Jon Chown
The Scotts Valley City Council voted for an emergency repair to Upper Glenwood Drive during a special meeting Nov. 19 after the Nov. 12 storm severely damaged a section of the critical roadway, creating a 30-foot-wide, 17-foot-deep slide that undermined it.
Because the council declared an emergency, the public bidding process for the repairs can be skipped and the road fixed as quickly as possible.
On Nov. 12, nearly 3 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period, and the drainage system at Glenwood Drive was overwhelmed with excessive runoff, explained Dat Nguyen, senior civil engineer for the city of Scotts Valley. The failure happened when the grate over the inlet, which was very small, became covered with leaves.
An emergency has been declared in order to repair Upper Glenwood Drive.
The soil then separated underneath the roadway and slid away. An 8-inch water main was also exposed by the slide. Scotts Valley Water District isolated the line to prevent future failure. A break would cut off service to the Sand Hill and Northridge neighborhoods.
After the slide, the bike lane was closed. To prevent further damage, city staff covered the hillside with impermeable cloth and plastic tarps. Sandbags were added to direct additional rainfall away from the eroded hillside. However, a crack in the roadway was observed Nov. 17, raising further concerns about the road’s integrity. The entire lane — and possibly the entire road — could be closed if conditions worsen, Nguyen said. More testing on the soil will be done to determine how stable the hillside is and the scope of repairs needed.
A normal bidding process would take at least six weeks to complete.
Council Member Krista Jett asked if the lane should be closed now until more is known. “I know it would probably cause a significant problem to the flow of traffic,” she said. “But if it’s so compromised … would that make sense?”
Nguyen said if the crack in the road extends any further, or if the slide continues to grow, the lane would be closed.
None of the council members argued about the immediate need, but there was concern about the cost.
“Do we have some idea or a proposal of what this might cost?” asked Council Member Steve Clark. “And then, part two of that is, how we might fund that?”
Nguyen said he had no idea what the cost might be, as he wasn’t sure what would need to be done until the soil tests come back. He added that he already contacted the county regarding emergency funding if the cost exceeded the city’s resources.
Nguyen said he also talked with Nate Gillespie, operations manager of the Scotts Valley Water District, to discuss partnering with the district on a repair, as it is the district’s water main that is exposed. The district, however, was not interested in contributing.
“If the roadway does not slide, the water main should be all right, therefore they say they don’t need to contribute anything,” Nguyen said.
“I’m just wondering what our north city folks think about that?” Clark said.
With no further discussion and no comments from the public, the motion for an emergency repair passed unanimously.