WELDON, Calif. (KERO) — Jubilation for Kern River Valley residents after the long-closed Sierra Way re-opens on Friday December 13.
- According to Kern County Public Works the cost of repairs totaled 3.2 million.
- The road was closed in March of 2023, and re-opened in December of 2024.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On Friday workers were cleaning and transporting heavy equipment and putting the final touches on newly installed guardrails as they prepared to open Sierra Way after a 21-month closure.
“It’s called jubilation Corey, jubilation! This road is such a special road because of driving through the scenery and passing the South Fork of The Kern River. But the convenience of getting right through here to my wife’s mom house without having to drive all the way around the lake to get over there to visit with her and be with her and take her shopping on a monthly basis, it’s a huge deal and we really appreciate it getting done,” Ryan Sertic, a Weldon resident told me.
Sertic told me this will make trips to Kernville and the dump much faster and allow him and his wife easier access to their family that lives in Kernville.
Many residents have talked about the impact of the road being closed - increasing the drive times and fuel cost for residents.
“And you just think of all the people there’s a lot of people that work in the desert here, in Kernville and that kind of thing. Their personal expenses to drive all the way to work. It’s probably cost a lot of people a lot of money, and there’s going to be a lot of people excited about it being open.” said Neil McGee, a Weldon resident who came by the work site on Friday to check the progress.
“It really did make a big difference, so yeah I'm glad it’s getting open,” McGee said.
The road originally closed in March of 2023 as the South Fork of the Kern River flooded.
The continuous water flow ended up causing significant damage to the road.
After a failed attempt in November of 2023 to fix the road so emergency vehicles could utilize it, the road remained impassable.
Kern County announced plans to fix it in June - with a completion date set for September.
However, there were delays related to the Borel Fire- pushing the opening date to the 13th of December
According to Kern County Public Works the cost of repairs totaled 3.2 million.
“The Kern River Valley is a beautiful place to live and to have everything open is really important so that everybody, the visitors and all of us residents that are here all the time can continue to see the beauty of this valley,” Sertic said.
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