I-5 and CA-58 mudslides

[rschen7754]

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/5-Freeway-Grapevine-Closed-Traffic-California-Storms-Mudslides-333174251.html

I-5 has since reopened, but CA 58 is still closed, with over 200 cars trapped: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-5-freeway-remains-closed-more-thunderstorms-expected-20151016-story.html

[midwesternroadguy]

I couldn't help but notice that the water and mud slurry was retained behind the Jersey barrier in the median of CA-58.  I wondered if the Jersey barrier hadn't been there if some of the slurry would have been able to drain more quickly.  I don't know the road at all, just observed the lack of drainage transpire in the news videos. 

[nexus73]

Those hillsides doing the sliding need the same treatment we give to US 101 in Curry County.  Drainage, rock, fencing.  It doesn't rain like it does in Oregon down there but the slide action is the same. 

Might as well do it right.  It's only the highways serving the greatest megapolis in the West!

Rick

[andy3175]

http://www.taftmidwaydriller.com/article/20151021/NEWS/151029919

Highway 58 through Tehachapi is scheduled to reopen Wednesday night after being closed for nearly a week by the effects of flooding and massive mudslide. Caltrans made the announcement late Wednesday afternoon. State Route 58 was closed on at 6:07 p.m last Thursday due to a major mudslide located between Cameron Road overcrossing and milepost marker 166 . ... The storm that hit the Tehachapi area was a 1000 year event that triggered a flash flood from miles off of Caltrans right of way and flowed down the canyons onto State Route 58.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/hwy-58-to-reopen-at-8pm-wednesday

Officials with Caltrans said Highway 58 through Tehachapi has officially reopened. This comes a week after the highway was closed due to mudslides in the area. Officials added that both directions are set to reopen and they will continue with the cleanup on the shoulder lane. In a statement, CHP officials said It was discovered that approximately 1 and a half miles of roadway was covered in 5-6 feet of mud last week. They added a  total of 78 passenger vehicles, 2 buses, 36 trucks, 1 RV & 1 travel trailer were stuck in the mud. Officials say travelers will see continuing cleanup efforts in the days to come on the shoulders of State Route 58.  Motorists are asked to please slow down and move over for workers.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/caltrans-working-to-clear-65000-cubic-yards-of-mud-and-debris

CalTrans officials say by the time the cleanup is complete they will have cleared about 65,000 cubic yards, which is two times the size of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. That total is also the equivalent of 19 Olympic-size swimming pools. Officials say there have been between 45 and 60 loaders, excavators or dump trucks working at any time since efforts began. CalTrans and Granite Construction have a combined 91 employees on site.

[US 41]

I honestly don't see what's so great about California. Forest fires, earthquakes, droughts, mudslides, and everything is expensive. There's always some sort of catastrophe in California. You could say that the weather on the Pacific is nice. However a lot of Californians go to the Baja Peninsula for their vacations. I think Yuma, AZ would be the perfect place to live if you wanted a California experience, but wanted your cost of living to be a lot lower. It's only a 3 hour drive to the ocean and 2 hours to the Gulf of California.

Also SR 58 has been reopened.

[myosh_tino]

Here's some impressive drone footage by YouTube user Edward Czajka showing the aftermath of the Highway 58 mudslides...

...and like US 41 said, the highway reopened Wednesday night (10/21/15).

[Brandon]

^^ Is it just me, or did that concrete median barrier help prevent the adjoining rail line from being covered in mud as well?

[myosh_tino]

^^ Is it just me, or did that concrete median barrier help prevent the adjoining rail line from being covered in mud as well?

Looking at the footage, I'd agree with you.  I seem to recall reading that there was some minor damage done to the rail line a little further to the west where there is a break in the concrete center median but if there was no median, the mudslides could very well have swept the rail line away.

[kkt]

I honestly don't see what's so great about California. Forest fires, earthquakes, droughts, mudslides, and everything is expensive.

Big state.

There's always some sort of catastrophe in California.

The intermountain west is running out of water, the midwest has got tornadoes, the east coast gets hurricanes.  Other places are threatened by earthquakes too, but generally less well prepared because they haven't hit as recently.

You could say that the weather on the Pacific is nice. However a lot of Californians go to the Baja Peninsula for their vacations. I think Yuma, AZ would be the perfect place to live if you wanted a California experience, but wanted your cost of living to be a lot lower. It's only a 3 hour drive to the ocean and 2 hours to the Gulf of California.

As long as the hours are between 2 and 5 AM, maybe.

Yuma is in the desert, extremely hot in the days.  The Pacific coast is moderated by the ocean so it doesn't get so hot.    There's also the culture of being a port city instead of a backwater.  Sure, housing is expensive in California but wages are generally higher too.  Yes, for the working poor it's rough.

Also SR 58 has been reopened.

Is Caltrans thinking about how to keep it from happening again?

[pctech]

That had to be a oh "sh...t" moment for people driving on these freeways as this happened.
I would think that the amenities, culture , natural beauty make CA. a desirable place to live.
The housing issue there though is a killer...wages are higher there, but not that proportionally higher.
Every area of the country has natural disaster possibilities. (hurricanes, flooding here in LA.)
Apparently NM. has the "safest" weather.

[myosh_tino]

Also SR 58 has been reopened.

Is Caltrans thinking about how to keep it from happening again?

I would say it's the back of their minds but probably not all that pressing since many have called what happened last Friday as a 1 in a 1,000 year event.

[andy3175]

http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article44586921.html

Caltrans pushes cost estimate for Highway 58 mudslide cleanup to nearly $2.4 million

The mammoth mudslide that mauled Highway 58 last month buried the freeway under more mud than previously thought and cost Caltrans nearly $2.4 million, an official said this week.

The Oct. 15 mudslide closed nearly two miles of Highway 58 in both directions between Highway 202 and Mojave and captured 115 vehicles, 73 semi trucks and two tour buses.

No one died in the slide, which delivered anywhere from two to 12 feet of mud and took nearly a week to dig out.

Dave Batchelder, desert region superintendent for Caltrans District 9, says the mud that flowed from six nearby areas unleashed "chaos."

"When the sun came up the next day, even I was amazed. It looked like an apocalypse,"  said Batchelder, whose district covers Kern County's eastern half.

The Highway 58 slide was previously thought to have unleashed 75,000 cubic yards of earth, but the state transportation agency's new measurement is about 85,000 cubic yards.

Depending on its exact composition and water saturation, that much earth likely would have weighed at least 170 million pounds.

In a news release, Caltrans called the mudslide a "1,000-year storm event,"  which spokeswoman Florene Trainor clarified means a similar event has a 1 in 1,000 chance of happening in any given year.

Another mudslide also buried Interstate 5 the same day on the Grapevine, but wasn't quite as expensive. It cost Caltrans $639,000 to clear I-5.

To minimize future occurrences during what's likely to be an El Niño winter, Trainor said Caltrans workers have been scaling local mountains to remove loose rock, and making sure future rains can be diverted off highways.