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Redwood Times
The bluffs between Garberville and Redway are now being called a mini Confusion Hill by many. This has been a major trouble spot for Humboldt County Roads Department since it was built many, many years ago. When the road was first constructed a shelf was built about halfway down, which can still be seen in some places, except where the sandy ground has broken off causing the current problem.
Every year the road is closed at various times in order to keep it safe and remove rocks and mud. County Roads is constantly monitoring the condition and removing debris, especially during the winter months. Before the guardrails were installed, rocks and dirt were partly pushed off the road and over the bank, and ultimately into the river below. Now, it all has to be loaded into dump trucks and hauled away to another site for disposal.
The unstable hillside decided to shift on Wed., Dec. 16 bringing large rocks and dirt down with them. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. This landslide left some very large slabs and rocks, the size of small cars, perched on the treacherous hillside. After an initial cleanup, the road was reopened and then closed again almost immediately when more came down and it was deemed unsafe for motorists.
Marty Messenger from Garberville’s Humboldt County Roads Department said, “We just couldn’t take a chance on someone getting hurt, so we decided to close it until everyone agreed it was safe.”
Over the next few days various experts were called in to evaluate the situation. In the end it was decided to hook cables around the rocks and try to pull them down.
Van Meter Logging, crew members from the Humboldt County Roads Department, Caltrans, the Highway Patrol and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department were all on hand last Friday to watch the big rocks come down. A crane with a bucket attached was rented and Van Meter’s employees climbed out onto the dangerous ground and put the cables around the rocks. Once the cables were attached the men came down and two front-end loaders tried to pull the rocks down, but they barely moved. The next time the cable was attached to a dump truck and this finally dislodged some of them.
Other methods were considered, but due to environmental restrictions could not be used because there are alternate routes by way of Old Briceland Road and Hwy. 101. One recommendation was to use high-powered fire hoses to wash the rocks down and the other was to blast them with explosives. Neither of these methods could be used because of those restrictions. Also, the use of explosives would possibly cause even more movement and internal cracks on the already unstable ground.
The possibility of further problems on this stretch of the road are inevitable and there will probably be more closures in the future. Our local County Roads Department employees, as well as Caltrans, the Highway Patrol, and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department work very hard and long hours to make sure our roads are safe. They ask that the public please be patient and understanding when these kinds of things happen. With ongoing budget cuts and lack of funding, our roads will probably continue to deteriorate until money is available for additional employees, repairs, and better maintenance.
REDWOOD TIMES PHOTOS BY SUSAN GARDNER
1. Two employees from Van Meter Logging in Redway approach the location of the rocks to be removed.
2. This large boom with a basket on the end raised two men up to the top of the largest rock, where a large cable was attached.
3. The dump truck pulled the cable tight and the rocks and dirt came down.
