A mudslide buckled Highway 101 about four miles north of Garberville in Humboldt County. Click to enlarge. Photo by Cynthia Elkins, KMUD News
Highway 101 about four miles north of Garberville in Humboldt County will be closed for at least two or three days after a massive mudslide Wednesday morning blocked the road and buckled the pavement.
The slide occurred at 9:20 a.m. and covered all four lanes of the highway, Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie Jr. said. The slide, which Wednesday afternoon was still moving, is 600 feet wide and extends 1,500 feet above the road.
“We are doing everything we can to get Route 101 reopened as quickly as possible,” Caltrans District 1 Director Charlie Fielder said.
Even once the road is reopened, Caltrans expects only part of the highway to be open with traffic delays likely because of one-way traffic control.
The CHP reported earlier that Highway 101 might not fully reopen for a couple of weeks.
The CHP said it was recommending drivers reach Eureka by taking Highway 20 to Williams in the Central Valley, then north on I-5 to Highway 299 in Redding, then west to Eureka. That detour will add several hours to the trip. The CHP also said there are back roads around the slide area but it is not recommending them.
Simon Frech of KMUD radio in Redway said area residents were just starting on how to figure out to deal with the slide. He noted the local high school, South Fork High, is in Miranda to the north of the slide but many of the students live south of the slide.
More photos of the slide are available at kmud.org by clicking here.
Aerial view of slide on Highway 101 north of Garberville. Click to enlarge. Photo by Felix Omai of KMUD radio
billie
this is happening everywhere from skyline boulvard in oakland to now garberville…seems like some planning should have been in line already.
March 30th, 2011 10:09 am
Simon Frech
Pictures of the slide on our website http://kmud.org, it links to our flickr page.
March 30th, 2011 10:43 am
Gloria A.
I recently viewed before and after photographs of a major highway in Japan that had been totally destroyed (not just mud covered) with huge cracks and elevation changes due to the earthquake.
Guess what?
The Japanese had that road repaired to excellent quality in a matter of 3 weeks. From utter destruction to pristine in just 3 weeks.
CalTrans. Are you listening ? Get to work.
March 30th, 2011 12:39 pm
Michael
Two ro three days???
CHP is saying that it could be 2 weeks.
Judging from the pictures available, I would say that the CHP estimate is more accurate.
March 30th, 2011 4:36 pm
Meg
CalTrans, you have a huge job ahead of you and people need to back you not say things like “look at Japan”. Let’s see some support people. Jeez. Would you want their job right now!!They are saying they think they can get it done in 2 weeks and you’re saying that Japan took 3 weeks for a destroyed highway. Since I’ve never rebuild or unburied a highway I don’t know how long it should take. And by the way, this is not just “mud covered”! Have you looked at the pictures? The highway is buckled and is under a mountain of mountain. It’s not like all they need to do is get a couple of people out there with their little shovels and clear a bit of mess.
March 30th, 2011 5:07 pm
jamie kelley
to reply to gloria A. private contractors clean and rebuild the road way are you listening blame the right people get a clue before you start pointing fingers!!!
March 30th, 2011 5:13 pm
Terry
Wow I’m really lucky. My girlfriend and I were returning to Santa Rosa from Portland via 199/1/101 last night, and passed Garberville around 9pm. Good thing we didn’t decide to stay up in Eureka for the night or an extra day in Portland.
March 30th, 2011 5:19 pm
Lyne
The only alternate route open to get around the slide locally is the Ettersburg route to Honeydew and then back over through Rockefeller Forest -we made it through in 2 hours – having left Redway at 4 and arriving in Miranda at 6 – the road is in good condition – a small patch of Dirt Road – Wet w/Rut and some patches of snow areas on the North Face coming back over the Mountain – but the road is plowed ….Not recommended for large vehicles – or “town cars”
March 30th, 2011 5:44 pm
Phil Hawk
I would trust the Caltrans engineers and geologist’s estimate before the CHP. CHP is not the one who will open the road…
March 30th, 2011 9:57 pm
Phil Hawk
To Gloria A.
Look at the photo – this is more than clearing some mud off the highway. The pavement is buckled and twisted.
March 30th, 2011 10:00 pm
James Craig
Can I get to Redway from the north?
March 31st, 2011 2:00 pm
Anderw Aragon
That C4 I set sure did the trick.
March 31st, 2011 2:19 pm
Frankie
Just got a chance to look at the pictures. Friends and I left Garberville that morning around 8:30 to see the Avenue, we expected to go South around Noon when we stopped by the Visitors Center and was advised by the nice volunteer “You can’t go there”. Well, we got to see more of Northern California. Went to Eureka, then off to 299 had to get to Santa Rosa some how. Just be happy that you all have a beautiful placed to live. Thank you for your hospitality and I hope they get the mess cleaned up soon.
April 8th, 2011 4:24 pm