- Video shows work being done to start temporary repairs on Sierra Way.
Kern County Public works crews are working on restoring Sierra Way to a point where it can be used for emergency access.
“This would all be for emergency and temporary purchases, unfortunately we are already coming into the fall time so we wouldn’t be able to pave this portion of the roadway,” said Alejandro Bedolla, Engineering Manager of Road Maintenance at Kern County Public Works.
The road has been closed since March and was deemed impassable by KCFD in April. Flooding on the Kern River heavily eroded the ground under the road, causing a portion of the road to completely collapse.
“It’s one of two main routes in and out of Kernville without going out into and through the mountains,” said Chris Zuber, a Kernville resident.
Chris Zuber says Sierra Way being unpassable makes him uneasy because it could serve as an escape route for Kernville in the case of emergency – especially if Highway 155 shut down.
"I was thinking back a little while ago about the French Fire and I was thinking about how much of a problem that would be if there was an emergency or we needed to evacuate Kernville or anything like that, where our escape route is now blocked," said Zuber.
Bedolla told 23ABC this temporary fix wouldn’t open the road to the public, but would allow law enforcement and emergency services to utilize it. If needed, it could also be used to evacuate residents in the case of an emergency.
“We are still assessing everything that's going on and seeing how far we have to go with everything. It may take us until the end of next week if not it's possible a few more weeks before we can open this up for emergency purposes,” Bedolla said.
“I’m glad to see something being done and that does give me some relief in the event of an emergency but I wonder how much more it will actually take to make a usable and open road,” Zuber said.
Work on the road has been tricky due to the fact that water is still running under a portion of the road and public works had to wait until the flows were low enough to safely begin the work on a temporary fix.
Bedolla says public works has applied for grants through the Federal Highway Administration in order to fund the permanent repairs.
“We've applied for several portions, one part would be to restore everything back to its pre-disaster condition. We also applied for a betterment grant as well to the point of a causeway or box culverts, we’ve left our options open. We’re working with several consultants and the Army Corps of Engineers and the water board to come up with good solutions.”
23ABC spoke with Kern County Public Works director Joshua Champlan over the phone and he says the grant to restore the road to pre-disaster conditions would be 5 million dollars, and should be settled within a few months.
For the betterment grant, public works is asking for 40 million dollars. Champlan says it is a competitive grant, and wasn’t sure when they would receive that money, if they do at all. Champlain says it is unclear when the permanent fixes will be done, but told 23ABC he is hopeful Public Works can start work on them next spring.
“Public Works and the county itself, we sympathize with the community. We understand this is a critical pathway to the community, so we are doing everything we can to get this open,” Bedolla said.
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