$20M ALLOCATED TO FIX HIGHWAY 101
More we weather is on the way for the county
The smorgasbord of natural disasters from earthquakes to ongoing storms in Humboldt County have caused millions in damage to local roads, including virtually bisecting a portion of U.S. Highway 101 in Southern Humboldt after a slip out.
While it will take time to estimate the damage caused by the most recent round of March storms, which caused the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to ratify a disaster declaration on Tuesday, the damage will likely open up state and federal funds for major repairs. The initial damage estimates on county roads due to the storms from late December through early January is $4.88 million, said Humboldt County Director of Public Works Tom Mattson.
“We got hammered with new damage yesterday and all pertinent staff are in the field assessing the new problem sites,” Mattson said via email. “As all of the damages have occurred within declared disasters we believe that state/federal funds will be available for the major repairs, so in the long run the damaged (sites) do not add to our deferred maintenance, they just take away funding that we have to use for a match for the projects from regular maintenance.”
Of the $4.88 million, $100,000 was for debris removal and the remaining amount was for emergency opening and construction costs on sunken roads and slip-outs.
Mattson noted that a federal emergency declaration opened up a range of funding for repairs and relief, namely from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Disaster Assistance Act.
The Humboldt County Department of Public Works is preparing an agenda item for the Board of Supervisors to ask about funding road maintenance. Before the Dec. 20 earthquake, the county had about $250 million they needed to pay for deferred maintenance on roads.
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake caused roughly $3.5 million in damage to county roads, but one site on Fulmor Road near Ferndale will be included in the county’s application to CDAA, which could see the county get reimbursed for 75% of the $1 million repair costs. The other county roads damaged by the earthquake are qualified to receive
funding from the Federal Highway Emergency Response, and Mattson said that roads that do not qualify for emergency response
are instead able to use FEMA funds.
The March storms are not
over, and next week is expected to see additional storm systems.
In March to date, the National Weather Service office in Eureka measured 6.9 inches of rain, over two and a half times the normal amount of 2.74 inches.
The weekend could see light precipitation — roughly a quarter of an inch on the coast and up to a half inch on the county’s higher elevations — but a new storm system is expected to begin on Monday, with potential for intermittent rains throughout the week and one to two inches of precipitation on the coast through Wednesday, with even wetter weather at higher elevations.
“It doesn’t look quite as strong as the one (storm) we’ve just seen because of the duration and the intervals of breaks in between,” Doug Boushey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Eureka, said. “But we still need to watch it.”
Boushey added there is potential for heavy rains and a possibility of flooding into late next week.
The Highway 101 slipout caused the corridor to begin slumping into the Eel River, the road is only open to one-way travel and fixing it could take several months. North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire posted on social media that $20 million in state funding has been secured to fix the slipout near Cooks Valley.
Downed trees and snow across the county have required
rescues when residents in remote locations begin running low on supplies. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has needed to clear tree debris and large snowpacks in order to evacuate residents.
An updated list of state road closures can be viewed at https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ and county road conditions can be seen at https://humboldtgov.org/CivicAlerts. aspx?CID=14. County hazards and weather emergency information is posted at humboldtsheriff.org/emergency.
“If inclement weather is predicted, we recommend staying home unless you absolutely have to travel,” Caltrans District 1 Spokesperson Myles Cochrane, said.