Repairs to storm-damaged Harris Grade Road began this week, moving closer to the reopening of the roadway linking the Lompoc and Los Alamos valleys.
Storms earlier this year caused damage that prompted the road’s closure between Rucker Road on the Lompoc side and Highway 135 near Los Alamos.
“We had a slope failure there that was compromising the roadway,” said Chris Sneddon, who recently donned the hat of Santa Barbara County public works director.
The county obtained an emergency contract to make the needed repairs to the road, with work starting Monday, according to Lael Wageneck, spokesman for the county Public Works Department.
“We’re hoping to get it open in around six weeks if there’s no other weather issues or anything else we run into,” Sneddon said before forecasts showed another around of heavy rain headed to the Central Coast.
The estimated emergency repairs cost is $500,000, with Papich Construction working with GeoStabilization International on the expedited project, Wageneck said.
Electronic signs and barricades serve as warnings about the closure, and suggest motorists take Highway 1, although some drivers reportedly have ignored them to still travel the road.
The narrow curvy road has just one lane in each direction, with a huge hill on one side and a steep cliff on other, and no shoulder for much of the route.
Storms earlier this year walloped several roads in the North County, with the county focused first on getting closed routes opened again.
A large culvert failure damaged Dominion Road, and CalPortland is making good progress on the repair project. It should reopen in a few weeks, Sneddon said.
Black Road between Betteravia and Mahoney roads has been repaired after a road failure south of the Northern Branch Jail.
County roads crews are keeping an eye on Jalama Road after it received storm-related damage.
“The road is open, but we have a lot of work to do out there as well,” Sneddon said.
And the severely damaged road to Rancho Guadalupe Dunes, closed since early 2023, has been mostly repaired, allowing people access to the beach at the western end of Main Street west of Guadalupe.
