By Jason Hoppin, County Communications Manager
The County of Santa Cruz announced that construction to repair Valencia Road near Trout Gulch Road has commenced.
A section of Valencia Road over Trout Gulch Creek has been closed since January 23, when winter storms caused a large culvert to fail and the road to sink. Since then, the County has been working with the Federal Highway Administration, Caltrans, state regulators, utility companies, neighbors and nearby Valencia Elementary School on a repair plan.
“This is a key step to bring back normalcy to the surrounding neighbors and Valencia Elementary School,” Supervisor Zach Friend said. “We’ve prioritized this repair from among 180 winter damage sites, and we’re moving toward reopening the road to traffic as soon as possible.”
On Monday, May 1 an excavator began removing fill near the impacted site. Drilling will begin shortly thereafter, as County contractors work to create a complex shoring system to allow for a culvert replacement located approximately 50 feet below road level.
County staff originally planned for a one-lane temporary bridge over the crossing. However, the County has determined that a two-way, two-lane bridge is preferred to better facilitate traffic flow. The bridge should be installed in early July.
The approximately $4 million repair is being funded by the Federal Highway Administration and local matching funds. The County is also working toward repairs at several other priority road sites throughout the unincorporated areas.