During the recent rains, the northbound right-hand lane on the Dean Creek slide closed several times.  Southern Humboldt folk are concerned.  Will the slide repair last through this winter? Kim Sallaway, an excellent local photographer who took the photos in this story and has been following the issue, has concerns. He says,

The problem I think I see is that the water is collected in the ditches dug to channel the run off. It has not risen high enough to get to the drain lines, so it is sitting draining as it can, where it can, and adding a lot of weight on the shelf itself.

The drains are amazingly dry so the flow isn’t running down them as hoped. Instead the H2O is leaching where it can. You can see the dry areas above where the seeps have exposed and moved the earth.

The retaining [fiber rolls] are staked and tied in place but the weight of the wet soil and moving rocks easily rip the retaining lines and stakes out of the ground.

The reflectors they installed to do the IRF readings on the slide are laying on their side. Obviously they can’t work. Even the one at highway level across the west side of the road has toppled. I’ve spoke to people who have been working there since the beginning. They are concerned. They used the word failing. I hope they are wrong.

It looks like the 3 inches of rain we got really messed this project up….. there is a lot of wet soil right above it that is pretty impossible to walk on without sinking in it deeply.

What will it be like when the rains begin for real if it is soupy now?

 

 

Caltrans however is relatively unconcerned.  They responded to my inquires by stating:

 

 

 

 

A minor loss of surface material at the Dean Creek slide repair site occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday due to heavy rains. According to Caltrans Resident Engineer Joaquin Rodriguez, the minor loss of surface material does not affect the structural integrity of the recent slide repair. Rodriguez said, “This sloughing of surface fiber rolls, newly planted seed, compost, and small rocks from the face of the buttress pose no permanent or long term lane closure concerns. We are in the final stage of the Dean Creek project and look forward to final striping and any remaining shoulder work to be completed within the next two weeks, weather permitting.”