After being closed for nearly two months for extensive repairs, and open for less than two weeks, "The Narrows" area of State Highway 18 between the State Highway 138 cutoff and the Cliffhanger will again be closed - indefinitely.

CalTrans District 8 Public Information officer Holly Kress said people should not expect the section of highway to open anytime soon. "We have not yet awarded the emergency contract to repair State Route 18, but the report that was given to me by my maintenance contact internally at CalTrans is the road sustained extensive damage," she said. "They don't anticipate the road being opened to the public for the rest of the winter."

Kress explained there are five "washout/slipout" areas along The Narrows. "When I say 'washout/slipout' I mean when the road washed out or slipped out from under itself," Kress said. "It has been severely compromised in five areas." Kress added that all of the drains that had been cleared and were functioning normally before the event became clogged during the flooding and contributed to the washouts and slipouts.

"The water had nowhere to go in the drains because all of the drainage became plugged with debris," Kress said. She added that chunks of the road have also been lost.

Kress emphasized the processes of awarding the contract and then getting to work are moving forward. "We're getting right on it," she says. However, she said many factors are involved in estimating how long it will take to make the repairs, including weather and the severity of the damage. "We're going to get an emergency contract out there, but it's so compromised, I don't want to paint a rosy picture."

The work that was being done on Highway 138 below Crestline is currently on hold. We will be reporting on all of these plans as they unfold.

Print this story

Email this story