Highway 9 may reopen soon, bringing relief to businesses

CHRISTIAN BALDERAS IS LIVE IN BEN LOMOND WITH AN UPDATE FOR US. EVER SINCE THE ROAD CLOSED, CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK...AND THEY'RE HOPING BY NEXT WEEK THEY CAN GET IT BACK OPEN FOR ONE WAY TRAFFIC. CONSTRUCTION ON HIGHWAY 9 IS ALMOST COMPLETE. FOR THE PAST MONTH, CAL TRANS WAS BUSY CLEARING A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE. CONDEMNING THIS ATTACHED LIVING SPACE, THAT'S RIGHT ON THE EDGE. HIGHWAY 9 RUNS FROM SANTA CRUZ TO LOS GATOS...THE CLOSURE - IS FROM GLEN ARBOR TO HIGHLANDS COUNTY PARK... ...THAT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET FROM SANTA CRUZ TO BEN LOMOND AND BOULDER CREEK. THAT'S THE SOUND OF AN AIR COMPRESSOR THAT'S POWERING A SPIDER EXCAVATOR, A SPECIAL TYPE OF MACHINERY THAT CAN WORK ON STEEP, MUDDY AND SLIPPERY TERRAIN. IT'S ON THE HILLSIDE, DRILLING THREE PIPES AT THE TOP...AND A SIMILAR MACHINE IS DRILLING 9 AT THE BOTTOM. <PUTTING THE PIPE AND EVERYTHING IS QUICK. IT'S JUST THE BOTTOM ONE WILL PROBABLY TAKE ONLY THREE DAYS, THE TOP ONE MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFICULT CAUSE IT'S IN THE AIR AND GETTING STUFF TO BRING STUFF TO DRILL IT IS A LITTLE HARDER> THE PIPES WILL HELP DRAIN AND DIVERT THE GROUNDWATER FROM THE SOIL. THAT HELPS PREVENT MORE DEBRIS FROM COMING DOWN. NOW THE HIGHWAY COULD OPEN AS SOON AS NEXT WEEK. <PLEASE OPEN THE ROAD PLEASE, THAT WOULD BE NICE> DEBORA LA PLACA'S FAMILY BAKERY, CAFE AND PIZZERIA, IS ONE OF TWO RESTAURANTS LOCATED ON HIGHWAY 9, JUST OUTSIDE THE CLOSURE...AND FOR THE PAST MONTH BUSINESS HAS BEEN SLOW. <IT'S BEEN DEFINITELY LIKE ALL JANUARY DEAD. SUPER SLOW.> <IT'S BEEN OVER A MONTH THAT THE ROAD HAS BEEN CLOSED AND THEY ONLY LET A FEW CARS AFTER YOU DO A FEW TURNS ON THE BLOCK> THE RESTAURANTS SUSPECT THE LARGE CLOSURE SIGN, DISSUADES THOSE DRIVING BY, AND TO ADD, CAL TRANS HAS BEEN DIVERTING TRAFFIC DURING PEAK HOURS: IN THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT...A PROBLEM FOR THIS CAF? AND DINNER SPOT. BUT, RAFFAELE CRISTALLO, THE OWNER OF CASA NOSTRA, TOOK MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS. HE SET UP THIS SIGN...AND GOT CAL TRANS TO PUT UP THIS áLARGER SIGN... LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THEY'RE STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS. CAL TRANS WILL ALSO PUT-UP NETTING TO HELP CATCH ANY FUTURE DEBRIS...BUT AS FOR A MORE DURABLE, PERMANENT SOLUTION...THAT STILL HAS TO BE DESIGNED. IF CAL TRANS CHOOSES TO PURSUE THAT, IT COULD TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS EVEN OVER A YEAR....AND TH

It's been almost a month since a massive landslide closed a portion of Highway 9 , congesting traffic and causing a headache for first responders, residents and businesses. Now Caltrans says the road could open as soon as next week. Highway 9 runs from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos, and was closed from Glen Arbor and Highlands County Park, right before Ben Lomond. The route, is one of two main thoroughfares to get from Santa Cruz to Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek; the other route is a longer detour. Caltrans finished cleaning up the roads and any loose debris last week. Now crews are focused on drilling 12 pipes into the hillside, nine on the bottom and three at the top. The pipes will drain and divert groundwater that's in the hill, preventing more debris from coming down. Once finished, crews will have to install a wall where the road was damaged by the slide and install a traffic light to regulate one-way traffic. For two Ben Lomond restaurants along Highway 9, the news couldn't come sooner. La Placa's Family Bakery and Casa Nostra are located just outside the closure, near the intersection of Highway 9 and Mill Street, where there's a sign that reads "Road closure ahead." According to the restaurants, Caltrans has been diverting traffic away from the restaurant, forcing cars to drive around the block during peak business hours: mornings and evenings. "This is already a hard time for restaurants; during the holidays, people are strapped for money, the tax season is about to come so normally it's already hard, but this closed for a month—it really—people think we're not accessible," Rafaelle Cristallo, the owner of Casa Nostra, said. Cristallo took matters into his own hand—he set up a sign on the sidewalk and got Caltrans to put up a larger lit-up sign letting people know their businesses are open. "It’s been definitely like all January dead. Super slow, but thanks to our neighbors and the people that love and support us, it's getting a little better this week," Debora La Placa, the manager of La Placa's Family Bakery said. Thanks to social media and a local paper getting the word out, the restaurants say business, though still slow, is starting to trickle in.

BEN LOMOND, Calif. —

Highway 9 runs from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos, and was closed from Glen Arbor and Highlands County Park, right before Ben Lomond.

The route, is one of two main thoroughfares to get from Santa Cruz to Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek; the other route is a longer detour.

Caltrans finished cleaning up the roads and any loose debris last week. Now crews are focused on drilling 12 pipes into the hillside, nine on the bottom and three at the top.

The pipes will drain and divert groundwater that's in the hill, preventing more debris from coming down.

Once finished, crews will have to install a wall where the road was damaged by the slide and install a traffic light to regulate one-way traffic.

For two Ben Lomond restaurants along Highway 9, the news couldn't come sooner.

La Placa's Family Bakery and Casa Nostra are located just outside the closure, near the intersection of Highway 9 and Mill Street, where there's a sign that reads "Road closure ahead."

According to the restaurants, Caltrans has been diverting traffic away from the restaurant, forcing cars to drive around the block during peak business hours: mornings and evenings.

"This is already a hard time for restaurants; during the holidays, people are strapped for money, the tax season is about to come so normally it's already hard, but this [Highway 9] closed for a month—it really—people think we're not accessible," Rafaelle Cristallo, the owner of Casa Nostra, said.

Cristallo took matters into his own hand—he set up a sign on the sidewalk and got Caltrans to put up a larger lit-up sign letting people know their businesses are open.

"It’s been definitely like all January dead. Super slow, but thanks to our neighbors and the people that love and support us, it's getting a little better this week," Debora La Placa, the manager of La Placa's Family Bakery said.

Thanks to social media and a local paper getting the word out, the restaurants say business, though still slow, is starting to trickle in.

Highway 9 may reopen soon, bringing relief to businesses

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