By Carlos Hernandez
[email protected]
It will take more than five months to repair Highway 150 that connects Ojai with Santa Paula, as a result of the landslide that occurred on February 19 due to the torrential rains that hit the area on those days, as confirmed by the Department of Works California Public Administrations (CALTRANS) in a community forum.
The two-hour event, which was hosted by the state agency and Supervisors Kelly Long and Matt Lavere, was held at Thomas Aquinas University in Ojai where more than 70 local residents heard state officials confirm their worst fear: road clearing and construction work will take until late May or early June.
This was confirmed by CALTRANS 7th District spokesperson, Michael Comeaux, adding that the works have taken longer than expected because “the landslides are more complex than previously thought.”
“Right now, we cannot remove any of the debris that is on the road because the landslide continues to move, slowly, but it moves, and if we remove it there is a great danger of having a much larger landslide at any time,” Comeaux explained to the public that gathered at the University.
At the same time, the spokesperson pointed out that this week CALTRANS engineers and surveyors from the 7th District, which are responsible for the highways of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, have dedicated themselves to collecting samples of the debris from the segment. of 150 feet long that is blocked on the road, to know what the composition of the land is like and thus proceed with the works.
“There are protocols to follow and safety, safety, safety is the most important thing for us, so unfortunately this will take much longer than desired. Believe me, what we would like to do most is clean and return everything to normal, but safety comes first,” said Comeaux.
According to the spokesperson, they hope that at least one lane of the highway will open by the end of May, but it will not be until July or August when it will possibly open completely.
“Yes, we can say that both lines of Highway 150 will be completely ready until sometime around July or can take until the end of summer,” said Comeaux.
For her part, Jacqueline Martin, Chief Geologist of the Geotechnical Design Unit in charge of the terrain studies, indicated that today the CALTRANS units have observed how water and more debris continue to fall in the landslide sector, located 3 miles north of Highway 26 in Fillmore and 14.5 miles south of downtown Ojai.
“These debris serve as a barrier, and if we move them there is a risk of an even greater disaster,” Martin told El Latino, who was the only media present at the event.
When asked if that was the problem, why not start the cleanups in higher areas of the landslide to minimize the weight and volume of the debris, Smith indicated that this was not possible.
“We cannot access the highest parts, the terrain does not allow it,” said Martin, however in videos and photos of the areas shown by CALTRANS the area is not that inclined and a possible access to clean that area is feasible.
At the same time, the geologist, when questioned by El Latino about the severity and inconvenience that the road blockage is causing and affecting more than 2,000 people daily, why not expedite the terrain testing that the team is doing, both she and Comeaux explained that this is what will take the longest to make decisions about what type of protective wall, whether it is one or two and where they are placed, the geologist did not give a concrete answer, assuring that they were doing it as fast as possible.
The same thing happened, when Martin was asked if CALTRANS had examples of similar terrain, as this is not the first time this area has experienced landslides, in fact these have occurred in the Ojai Mountains for decades, however the expert excused herself by saying that she had only been in office for a month and did not know if they had samples.
Then it was the turn of Martin Erickson, Executive Director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), who indicated that they were working on a special bus route from Ventura to Ojai to transport workers and students who usually make the trip.
“We are doing everything possible to have this ready as soon as possible and it is very likely that we will have that route in service by next week,” said Erikson.
A HUGE PROBLEM
Caltrans estimates that approximately 3,200 vehicles travel daily on the affected stretch of Highway 150.
The landslide forces drivers to travel from Santa Paula to Ventura via Highways 126, 101 and 33 to reconnect with Highway 150 in the northern part of Ojai.
And some of those present told El Latino that the journey that previously took them a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes now takes more than an hour and a half, especially for parents of students who go to school less than a mile to the other side of the landslide.
Andrea McCallister, a resident of the north side of the affected portion of the highway, thinks public officials are not doing everything they can to fix the problem.
“When the landslide happened in Montecito, which was much more serious and larger, in less than a month Highway 101 was open, and here, which is less than a block away, they are making us wait almost four months.
“We are a forgotten community,” MacAllister lamented.
For his part, businessman Jhon Buccali, who owns a farm, vineyards and a popular restaurant less than five miles from the landslide, in the Q & A part of the event, reproached the passive attitude of CALTRANS officials.
“Let me teach you some history. Back in 1969 there was a much larger and more devastating landslide, and in less than two weeks the entire area was cleaned and repaired. So, how is it possible that now you tell us that it will take months?! It makes no sense; this can be done and should be done now. We are in the United States, where we can do anything! So do it (the repairs),” Buccali explained, while the audience applauded him.
CALTRANS Spokesperson replied once again and very politely that they are not going to act faster than they can because the collapse continues slowly and the engineers want to see how it is developing and if they need extra construction.
“You are wasting your time and damaging this community, now you accept it and don’t say that you are reactive and not proactive, why don’t you get to work once and for all,” said John Richardson, a local resident and who as an engineer, who stated he has experience in the construction and roads and highways repairs.
COUNTY WITH HANDS TIED
According to Supervisor Lavere, although the highway is in Ventura County, it is not part of the jurisdiction of the County Department of Public Works, but is property of the State.
“We don’t have jurisdiction over Highway 150 that’s why we can’t fix it, it’s a shame but those are the laws and we can’t interfere with a state agency like CALTRANS,” explains Lavere.
However, both he and Supervisor Long have gotten to work and for a couple of weeks there has been an ambulance and medical personnel to provide emergency assistance to the north side of the affected area, which is the most remote, as it is 11.3 miles from downtown Ojai.
In addition, a Fire Department unit has been deployed to the same area, as indicated by the Ventura County Fire Chief (VCFD), Jim Gardner.
“We are alert 24 hours a day, we have a truck, personnel and in case of emergency we also have helicopters ready to get here,” explains Gardner.
One of the temporary solutions that the residents put forward to the authorities is the possibility of building a neighboring road in the rubble area, since being less than 100 meters, it would be something feasible, however CALTRANS has flatly refused under the arguments of danger and the priority of safety.
Given this, residents asked Gardner why dirt roads or a walking trail that the VCFD uses in emergencies when rescues or forest fires occur were not made available.
“These accesses are on private property and the owners do not leave them for fear of a lawsuit in case someone has an accident. In addition, these roads are very dangerous that only trained drivers can travel, and also because they are improvised roads and built only for emergencies that are not suitable for high-volume traffic, since they would be destroyed,” explains Gardner.
Finally, officials and CALTRANS indicated that there would be more community forums in the coming weeks, and Comeaux stressed to everyone present that they can contact him on his mobile phone to explain and resolve any concerns they may have.
