By Jason Hoppin, Communications Manager County of Santa Cruz
Photo credit: CHP Santa Cruz
Monday it will be two weeks since Valencia Road was closed between Trout Gulch and Aptos School roads. I wish I had better news, but it won’t be open by then. The road remains unsafe for cars, bicycles and pedestrians. We understand some people, including children, continue to walk across the roadway and we are looking into installing signs warning people about this to further help get the word out.
Supervisor Friend has asked that we provide all we know at this point as a follow up to his previous post. While we have stopped seeing major shifts in the roadway, we are still detecting very small ones. Surveyors continue monitoring the situation, but the ground there remains saturated despite recent dry weather, and new rains aren’t helping. We can’t give you an ETA, but we’re not close, at this time, to opening the road. We will provide more updates when we know more.
A permanent fix may require replacing the 75-year-old existing culvert, which is a complex job given the amount of dirt on top of the existing culvert. Our Public Works Department is weighing at the possibility of a temporary bridge, but they need the ground to stop moving to further assess that.
I know there is some concern about utilities in the area. On the day the road was closed, PG&E went out and installed shutoff valves on either side of the 4” pipe. We also understand Trout Gulch Mutual Water Company is installing a bypass today to assure residents in the area have continued access to water.
Once again, I wish I had better news. Thanks for your continued patience.