The landslide that blocked Panoche Road on New Year’s Eve should
be cleaned up by Friday at a cost of about $25,000-$30,000 to San
Benito County, according to Assistant County Public Works Director
Peter Corn.
Paicines – The landslide that blocked Panoche Road on New Year’s Eve should be cleaned up by Friday at a cost of about $25,000-$30,000 to San Benito County, according to Assistant County Public Works Director Peter Corn.
The money will fund the six dump trucks currently hauling debris from the site about 11 miles up the road from the Paicines General Store, Corn said.
Starting around noon last Friday, in what locals call “the Jones” area of Panoche Road, the landslide continued until Monday morning, when it was deemed “somewhat stable,” Corn said. As of Monday, boulders, mud and gravel had completely covered the stretch of road, leaving only a narrow shoulder open to local and emergency traffic.
“The road is officially closed, and we’re asking that locals don’t bring horse trailers, or anything larger than a pick-up truck onto the road,” Corn said.
Local traffic is still being permitted on the road for convenience’s sake, County Administrative Officer Gil Solorio said Monday. In order to get to Hollister without using Panoche Road, local farmers and other residents would be forced to use Interstate 5, Solorio said. Still, cars must pull up onto the shoulder of Panoche to maneuver around the heap of rock and mud.
While falling boulders did cause some permanent damage as they crushed parts of the road, clean-up crews won’t know how extensive the damage is until all of the debris has been cleared away, Corn said. However, this summer the Public Works Department plans to do some more permanent stabilization work on the hills and cliffs along Panoche, he added.
“We’re going to be doing what should have been done back in ’98,” Corn said, in reference to floods in March of 1998 that completely washed out about a half-mile of Panoche Road.
The estimated $25,000-$30,000 for the current clean-up will be absorbed by the Public Works Department’s road maintenance budget, Corn said, although later in the year he will go before the County Board of Supervisors to request budget augmentation to make up for the expense.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
