KERNVILLE, Calif. — After a meeting with the public at the Kernville Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Public works has laid out a timeline for repairs on Sierra Way.
“We're planning to start construction in April and be completed by July,” said Sal Gomez, Assistant Director at Kern County Public Works.
Gomez says this is a timeline for a long-term, but ultimately temporary repair which will open the road to the public.
“We’re still working on having a permanent solution, which will probably take several years.”
At the meeting residents expressed that they would like to see a permanent solution, but officials said the fastest way to get the road open was with a temporary fix that would open the road while public works creates a plan for a permanent solution.
Sierra Way is a road in the Kern River Valley that connects the 178 to Kernville. During last year's storms, it suffered major damage by the heavy flows of the South Fork of the Kern River, rendering it impassable.
The price tag for the temporary fix would be around one million dollars Gomez said.
They are looking at 5 million dollars for a more permanent solution.
“Which would potentially get us to a box culvert or maybe reinforced concrete pipes.” Alejandro Bedolla, Engineering Manager of Road Maintenance at Kern County Public Works said at the meeting.
One resident at the meeting brought up that April is when water levels are typically highest in the South Fork of the Kern River, whose flows have hindered repair work on Sierra Way in the past.
“That's where you are going to see the most water coming off the mountain or snowmelt,” Bedolla acknowledged, “But that’s what we have to deal with right now.”
Residents all around the Kern River Valley have been advocating for a speedy fix, laying out multiple problems that the closure has caused.
“It’s always in the back of my mind, what if something would happen,” said Beverly Demetriff, a business owner in Kernville who says her worry is about a situation where Kernville would need to evacuate and Wofford Heights Boulevard was closed because of flooding or a fire.
“It’s a safety issue, I’ve had to evacuate, and I have had to deal with the people who got here. Having to get them out safely is a big concern.”
This worry is heightened by the upcoming Whiskey Flat Days, which takes place from February 16th to the 19th and brings thousands of people to Kernville.
“We have 80,000 people here, how are we supposed to get out?” Demetriff said.
“When there’s an accident or when there’s a fire, that road will be shut down, and when that road closure happens, the traffic could be backed up clear down into the canyon,” said Carla Thron, a resident who has sent a letter to county, state and even federal officials about the need for Sierra Way to be fixed.
Thorn says this closure has several negative impacts on the Kern River Valley Community.
“I work in South Lake so that would normally be eight miles, now I easily have to travel 70 miles to get where I need to go. “
But her main concerns aren’t over her own travel time, they’re about safety. With the closure of Sierra Way, large trucks transporting goods to Kernville from the East, or trash trucks going to the dump, have to travel all the way around the lake.
“One of the bigger problems is that we have to intermingle all of these huge trucks with school buses, commuters and general daily traffic.”
The closure has had economic impacts on Kernville too, those coming from the east now face a significantly longer route to Kernville.
“We need our infrastructure to match what we are inviting into the valley. And that’s a big problem because we are not addressing those concerns,” said Thorn.
Kern County Public works made temporary repairs to the road in November of 2023, in order to open it for emergency service vehicles. However, those repairs failed, and it is currently impassable for everyone.
“We have to ultimately have that in the back of your mind. It’s our job to take care of these people. They are here to visit us,” said Demetriff.
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