Heading Across 299? Expect Delays Starting Tomorrow

Hwy 299

Hwy 299 [Photo by Caltrans]

Facebook post from Caltrans District 2:

SR 299 travelers between Redding and Arcata – Multiple areas of road work starting 7/31 – PLAN FOR DELAYS IN SHASTA/TRINITY COUNTIES.

Buckhorn Grade: Erosion Control Establishment work will begin July 31st between Crystal Creek Road and the Shasta/Trinity line. Motorists can expect [one-way traffic control] and 30 minute delays, Monday through Friday between 7 am and 5pm.

From Trinity/Humboldt line to 3 mi. west of Burnt Ranch: One way traffic control is starting July 31st for paving operations. Motorist can expect delays in the area.

MOTORISTS SHOULD PLAN ON MULTIPLE AREAS OF WORK AND LONGER DELAYS THAN USUAL.

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37 Comments
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Veterans friend
Guest
Veterans friend
6 years ago

So 4-8 hour delays on 36, now more delays on 299. Do we have to go to Oregon, or Ukiah to get east? Nevermind about Oregon…last chance grade will no doubt slow things. Oh well. Glad I still prefer Humboldt.

Brian
Guest
Brian
6 years ago

Dammit!!!!!!

I hate traffic control. Go to work at midnight and keep the roads open.

To make people work/wait 299 during heatwaves because of poor engineering is criminal.

The old 299 didn’t close for repair every year. This is so ridiculous.

Mercer Fraser you suck.

LE
Guest
LE
6 years ago
Reply to  Brian

Yep. I am in agreement 100%

JR
Guest
JR
6 years ago
Reply to  Brian

You are on to something about the old 299 not being closed as often. Same with the old parts of 101. I think the reason for both is that the older sections of both highways followed the land contours and were not constructed on cut and fill. Roads are more stable when they do not fight Mother Nature.

Brian
Guest
Brian
6 years ago
Reply to  JR

For years, watching them redo buckhorn summit, all I could say is those walls ain’t gonna hold!

Later, talking to lifelong equipent operators, I learned that I was right.

For them to make 100 foot slopes on DG without any shelf is why we get to watch them repair all their mistakes now.

How wonderful. I wonder if they’ll be donating their time for free this year since I’ve lost days to their buckhorn bs.

What left? A vehicle protest?

We all drive thru the road control slowly back and forth until they start working at night.

This has been a beautiful dream and vision of mine for years.

Tad Donoho
Guest
Tad Donoho
6 years ago
Reply to  Brian

Totally agree, this work should be done at night. There should also be a Law on how many jobs can be operating per milage.

Mariahgirl
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Brian

It is not Mercer Fraziers fault it is Caltrans rules and regulations. They are also taking out a lot of passing lanes and putting in more double yellow lines. It’s for our safety you know. And they wonder why there is more road Rage! You get behind people doing 40 or 45 and they won’t move over, used to get a ticket for that. At least the bicyclists get a lane, must be nice!

Bob
Guest
Bob
6 years ago
Reply to  Brian

No shit drove semi every day from coast to valley and back , old hey.better in so many ways. I guess time will tell ,I have made lots of over time cal-trans don’t care,but boy CHP on them log books , I wonder some times pay extra fuel,pay more wages and then of course play CHP

JR
Guest
JR
6 years ago

There are four temporary traffic lights between Klamath and Crescent City plus one at Big Lagoon. Additionally, there is nighttime roadwork between the lagoons and Prairie Creek. Figure on an extra 45 minutes from Arcata to Crescent City which is normally just over an hour’s drive.

Josephine
Guest
Josephine
6 years ago
Reply to  JR

It currently takes 1:45 to get from big lagoon to crescent city during the day. Haven’t tried it at night. It’s not on caltrans up that way though. That road’s been where it is since it was highway one and travelled by mules.

a neighbor
Guest
a neighbor
6 years ago

This isn’t new. the delays on 299 are ridiculous. Nobody wants these “improvements” except for the trucking lobbyists. But it really has gotten to the point of complete disrespect for the citizens driving the road. Already this summer a 1 hour drive from Willow Creek to Weaverville can now take over 2 hours. The traffic clumps that these stops create result in road rage and it increases the danger on the road. All of us that live out here are trying to be patient for safety sake, but it’s hard in the face of this disrespect. And yes it is very hot out here!

Wildcat
Guest
Wildcat
6 years ago
Reply to  a neighbor

Seriously. This isn’t news. There has been an hour of intermittent delays between Weaverville and Arcata for the entire summer. Most of the construction zones aren’t even posted on cal trans.

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  a neighbor

Disrespect?! They’re fixing the friggin road! Jeez it’s hot everywhere deal with it, if you get road rage because of construction you need some serious counciling.

Brian
Guest
Brian
6 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Correction:

Because of 5 years of construction.

No, 3 years of construction, and every year after repairing the new road they built, keeping everyone from getting anywhere in less than 1/3 of a day.

If they had come to 299 for a day of construction no one would be saying squat.

Get it straight.

Yo mama
Guest
Yo mama
6 years ago
Reply to  Guest

You have road rage because someone spoke their opinion. Perchance it’s you that needs a therapist?

Sparklemahn
Guest
Sparklemahn
6 years ago
Reply to  Yo mama

Road rage is for snowflakes and cupcakes. The rest of us just go about our business NOT IN A BIG HURRY. You want HURRY go to Smell-A.

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Yo mama

Me? Haha no You are mistaken.

Mariahgirl
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  a neighbor

A lot has been done just to add a bike lane. That info is from the road crews.

Cass
Guest
Cass
6 years ago

So tired of this!! Winter it’s closed summer big time delays. Have to travel over to Redding tomorrow for surgery no choice.

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Cass

36 is open tomorrow I belive, I drove it yesterday no problem (well except for morons on my side)

Yo mama
Guest
Yo mama
6 years ago
Reply to  Guest

And tomorrow is the last day it’s open before the four hour shutdowns start.

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Yo mama

Ya and they said they need to go to Redding on that day so should be helpful.

Michael
Guest
Michael
6 years ago

I came across from Redding last week and it took 6 hours to eureka.

Lisa Barreto
Guest
6 years ago

You all must not be from here long, road work in summer has always been the norm. Roads have always slid, rocks have always fallen. Went to Redding last week went in evening, came back in early morning, 3.5 hours both ways. Plan accordingly and be glad they are repairing the roads. People need to up the positive and be glad for what we do have.

Jbresnan
Guest
Jbresnan
6 years ago
Reply to  Lisa Barreto

Amen same deal on 36. This realignment propaganda is BS. 4- hrs delay to get to Eureka-OMG

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago

Hey at least they are working on it! Most our roads wouldn’t be acceptable even in Bolivia.

Sceptic
Guest
Sceptic
6 years ago

Saw them rip apart the stable, solid rock cliff just west of Salyer. Couldn’t imagine why. That’s where two guys were seriously hurt from a collapse of the cliff. I have heard from someone close to a reputable source that the money was set aside during Bill Clinton years due to NAFTA. Who knows? Where else does all this money come from???? It is crazy. They demolish solid rock, contour the bare soil, plant grass and pray. Pray for lots of future work repairing the slides.

LynnMae
Guest
LynnMae
6 years ago

I endured 299 completely closed for a couple months thirty years ago. And much more time when they kept working on it. The final solution was to bypass it with 2 bridges over the Trinity. When you live with a major slide you come to know a lot about it. Whoever told you there had been a stable solid rock cliff….well, there is no ‘solid’ rock in these mountains. Deep within, yes, limestone which can be permeable. But it’s not on the surface, where the hillsides come down. And while the area is inland it still experiences the earth movements which loosen some strata and crack others. What local earthquakes do to brick and mortar buildings they do to the land.
And you might remember that there have been forest fires in the area in the past years. The old growth die, the undergrowth is killed, and what held the soil doesn’t hold it anymore.
The discussions about building a railroad from Red Bluff to Blue Lake might not have interested you but the studies done a couple years ago pointed out that no matter what route was chosen the land couldn’t support a railroad with heavy freight trains. Tunnels might work. Might.
And one more thing. There are always small springs all over the mountains. When there’s a slip or a slide, the water from the spring changes its path and adds to the slide’s movement. Been there (and done a lot of waiting), seen that. They have to cut back into the mountain so they can divert the waters from the springs away from the slide area. But because the work done also affects the mountain, it has to be monitored and more work done if necessary.
Here’s a website with a geological map of the Weaverville quadrangle. You don’t have to understand geology to look at the map (you can click and get a pdf to enlarge), but when you see all the different colors and how they are all mixed up together, you’ll see why there are no simple solutions to how the land is going to move, or when.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3095/
There is also this: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/records/region…/ref2065.pdf
but it’s only for die-hard-read-anything-strange and/or I-like stuff about the land.
And yes, the heavy rains after the long drought contributed to earth movements. That’s just the way things happen.

gunther
Guest
gunther
6 years ago
Reply to  LynnMae

Well put. Thanks for the links. It’s still the Redwood Curtain and probably always will be.

Alikat
Guest
Alikat
6 years ago
Reply to  LynnMae

Lynnmae,
Thank you for the info. I’m super excited to chk out the Waterboard link. I am a total “die-hard-read-anything-strange and/or I-like stuff about the land” person!

sonja c wolfe
Guest
sonja c wolfe
6 years ago
Reply to  LynnMae

i was not going to sign up to make to make any comments, but you were so clear, concise and accurate, i just wanted to say thank you.

hammertime
Guest
hammertime
6 years ago

It’s called job security folks. No different than fire personnel setting fires. We can’t all grow dope(anymore).

CnD
Guest
CnD
6 years ago

It would be great if tourists could be educated about “Turnouts” and how to use them. Many from the land of freeways have never seen them before and think they’re for parking. It wouldn’t hurt to remind locals how to use them, either!

Mariahgirl
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  CnD

Right on!!

Sparklemahn
Guest
Sparklemahn
6 years ago
Reply to  Mariahgirl

Courtesy demands speeders be patient but also that slowpokes pull over. Never a time when I would not move over to let somebody pass provided there is a safe turnout. Once, I went into a ditch with a car when trying to be courteous to those in a hurry. Never again. The more you tailgate the slower I go but if you are skilled enough to pass, go for it. I don’t drive little cars anymore, instead opting for huge tank-like trucks that give a lot more damage than they take in an “accident”. See you out there!

Carol Conners
Guest
Carol Conners
6 years ago

This is a good time to stay home and enjoy summer.

Diana Hamilton
Guest
Diana Hamilton
6 years ago

Download free books from the public library & listen to some good stories while you wait.
It really helps & this is the most beautiful scenery in the world.