Landslide may keep stretch of Highway 150 shutdown until late June

A stretch of Highway 150 shutdown since a February landslide may stay closed for another two months, officials said this week.

The slide buried a stretch of the rural state highway in mud and debris, blocking the only direct route between Santa Paula and Ojai. Those living or working in nearby communities are stuck with long detours . For some, a 14-mile roundtrip commute to work or school is now 90 miles.

The California Department of Transportation previously said it could be late May before the road could partially reopen. But this week, officials added a month to the timeline.

The agency plans to reopen one lane for alternating traffic by late June, Caltrans engineer Sherif Botros said during an online community meeting Tuesday night. It could take up to an additional six weeks to fully reopen the highway.

“We are going to try to do it as fast as we can,” he said.

The route has remained closed from Stonegate Road in Santa Paula to Steckel Park. An estimated 3,200 vehicles used that stretch daily and drivers now have to loop around Ventura via Highways 126, 101 and 33 to reconnect with the 150.

What will Caltrans do to reopen the highway?

Caltrans estimates roughly 32,000 cubic yards of mud and debris need to be removed. That's around 2,000 truckloads of material, the agency said.

Early on, officials said crews could not clear mud and debris because of the risk of triggering additional slides that could damage nearby homes or utility lines. Samples taken from the slide were sent for testing and the findings were used to develop designs for repairs.

Plans call for building a retaining wall to shore up the slope. Crews will build the wall – expected to be roughly 360 feet long and 40 to 50 feet high – in stages to help expedite the work, which includes installing dozens of large beams deep into the slope. Caltrans hired contractor R&R Demo and Grading Corp. for much of the work.

Officials estimated the project will cost nearly $3 million.

Construction started last month with building an access road for equipment. On Tuesday, Caltrans said emergency vehicles also can use the road to get around the slide. A monitoring device was recently installed to detect any movement in the slope.

Will residents be allowed to walk around the slide?

Residents have urged agencies to create a pedestrian path around the slide — one that could allow them to park, walk around it and then get picked up by a shuttle on the other side. So far, that hasn't happened.

But this week, they asked Caltrans to consider letting pedestrians use part of the temporary access road at least for brief periods in the morning and evening. While state officials raised safety concerns about the proposal, residents asked that they also weigh hazards of thousands of drivers on long detours around winding, rural roads.

Caltrans officials said they heard the public’s concerns. In a couple of weeks, the monitoring device will show the agency more about the slide’s stability and whether the earth continues to shift, they said. Depending on those results, they would consider such a path.

John Yang, a deputy district director with Caltrans, said the agency will look into possibilities and update the community.

How to access a shuttle

During the closure, the Ventura County Transportation Commission is offering a free emergency shuttle service to help residents get between Ojai and Santa Paula.

More information on the schedule and locations is available at vcemergency.com/sr-150-landslide-information .

Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Landslide may keep stretch of Highway 150 shutdown until late June