Route 36 to Remain Closed Through the Weekend Due to Ongoing Slide Concerns
As of Friday, June 6, Route 36 east of Swimmer’s Delight in Humboldt County remains fully closed due to an active slide and will not reopen this weekend, according to Caltrans Public Information Officer Manny Machado.
Ongoing hazard surveys have identified additional trees and debris that need to be addressed before the roadway can safely reopen. Site activity has hindered access to some areas, delaying a complete site assessment.
Caltrans crews plan to resume work on Monday, June 9, to complete a full evaluation of the slide. In the meantime, travelers are advised to use Route 299 as a detour.
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“Ongoing hazard surveys have identified additional trees and debris that need to be addressed before the roadway can safely reopen.”
Tragic someone died before worker safety was put ahead of commuter convenience — keep it closed until it can be safely reopened.
Well yeah, that’s what they’re doing. Keep in mind it isn’t just “commuter convenience”. You also have fire/emergency personnel, food, fuel and other necessary things that need that road open. Not to mention the crews themselves that have to operate on both sides of the slide.
Yeah, that’s what they’re doing now but that’s not what they were doing — and it cost a life.
And the main pressure did come from people who need to get to work or school — I totally get that RH is not a great or even good alternative but it is an alternative.
You’re placing blame on those affected by this natural disaster, which is misguided. Typically, disaster response includes damage assessments and community impact surveys to evaluate how vulnerable populations are affected and what resources are needed.
This could have included rental assistance for missed work, gas cards to offset extra fuel costs, and accommodations for students, such as laptops and distance learning options. These measures should have been considered and would have cost far less than the loss of a life.
If basic needs had been addressed, no one would have been raising concerns to keep the road open when it would have been best to stay home and let the workers work.
The workers and victims should never have been pressured to commute or work under unsafe conditions.
No one should have had to drive under an active slide. The situation should have been handled properly from the start and part of that is considering the impact and addressing those needs.
We already paid the taxes for these services they should be available when we need them. I will be looking into who profited off of this because I think that is a great starting place to decide why this was so mis-managed.
“You’re placing blame on those affected by this natural disaster.”
No, I’m not placing blame on them at all — they’re not the ones who kept the road open when it should have been closed — my question is whether state or local elected officials pushed to keep it open and who at Caltrans made the decision — I doubt it was anyone with first hand knowledge.
All good questions. It’s frustrating because anyone familiar with these jobs knows that whistleblowers who report unsafe conditions often face retaliation. If they report hazards, they may be put on stand-down without pay or worse. The workers are not at fault for trying to keep their jobs and keep companies running. These guys need better protections and I hope their union rep is raging right now
No one has to drive under an active slide. No guns to anyone’s head.
Are you saying that Cal-trans would ignore safety and compliance standards because of public or political pressure? I don’t understand your line of thinking
If that is the case they messed up. Like I said before the public trusts these companies to make the decisions that keep us safe. In fact gave these companies 2.6 million dollars in funding to make sure they kept the public and their workers safe as well as opening the road. How the funds are allocated and the public is protected is again entirely on cal-trans California Allocates Nearly $1.2 Billion to Transportation Projects, Investments to Improve Infrastructure Across State | Caltrans
If the county had declared a disaster, the public would have been able to seek relief from both private and public entities to help stabilize their lives. Missing work and with gas prices over $5 per gallon, the extra hours of commuting put a severe strain on working families. When government officials fail to consider the financial stress and logistical challenges faced by their taxpaying constituents, concerns about road accessibility become inevitable.
The county had the option to allocate funds to provide relief for those affected but instead prioritized keeping the road open…despite the risks to both workers and the public. This decision reflects poor judgment and financial withholding at a time when taxpayers needed support the most. This is why we have disaster relief funds and pay taxes.
****this would have been the appropriate response *******
“HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. — On Friday, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal proclaimed a Local Emergency in response to the significant impact of the Fleener Creek/Centerville landslide west of Ferndale.
Sheriff Honsal says these ongoing landslides have been progressing significantly since January and are now threatening the main entry and exit rout to multiple homes, ranches and Bureau of Land Management recreational areas.
According to the sheriff’s office, local emergency proclamation is a prerequisite to requesting state or federal assistance for landslide-related response and recovery efforts.”
Emergency declared in Humboldt County as landslide threatens local routes
Why weren’t we important enough to declare a state of emergency? Why WAS the road not closed sooner when there were rocks hitting civilian cars? I have a lot of questions about how this was handled. And really how it continues to be handled.
Sheriff declared a disaster on a COUNTY road.
Hwy 36 is a STATE HIGHWAY. Problem is a cross-over in authority.
California Governor would be needed to declare an emergency on a state hwy.
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Hint: There are no ‘safe’ roads in the mountains.
Slides, rockfalls, trees falling, streams flooding, snow closures… you name it.
It is all a guess on balancing hazards and the public demand for travel.
Thank you good information
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I’m not saying Caltrans ignored worker safety but it wasn’t the first priority.
The fact that it’s been said elsewhere and people coming through that they were letting people go through as fast as they could bugs me. I don’t know what the threshold of Go/No go is, but telling people to just roll the dice and well…go for it doesn’t sit well with me.
We had every child in our school pass through that slide hours before the fatality that happened. We don’t matter, our children don’t matter
…I hope people get why I am going to be an unwavering asshole moving forward
Going to be a sizable job to ‘fix’ the slide.
Looks like they need 3 ‘wide’ CAT roads that go across the slide.
Knock the mountain down… clean it up… and do it repeatedly.
Likely going to take some trees out on both sides of the slide.
Was looking at some old maps, pre-1900. (Humboldt State Collection)
Only land routes from the coast to Bridgeville was the Kneeland-Bridgeville road and the ‘Redwood House’ road.
Those roads were the main route… long before the ‘modern’ road that went upriver from Strongs Station.
Photo is a portion of one of the old maps. Lots of old ‘settlements’ were along the roads… mostly located a days wagon ride apart. All gone now. Only a few houses are left in what used to be ‘Yagerville’.
And now you know why so many stage stops and hotels popped up all along those routes. In winter they often closed due to slides, snow, whatever and you couldn’t even cross the ridges on horseback. Travel from Red Bluff could take you 5 days. Or two weeks. Or better yet, before the original 101, might as well catch a steamer into Eureka, it’s be a lot faster from SF.
The times they are a changin….