Unclear When Highway 154 Will Reopen
Unclear When Highway 154 Will Reopen
Unclear When Highway 154 Will Reopen
Closures of Highway 154 and Highway 101 (Photos by Mike Eliason)
Here are aerial views of the Hwy.154 work, looking like they might be able to expose the culvert soon if the runoff keeps slowing. It's at the East end of the lake, as the wider shot shows (closure is at bottom-left).
Update by Caltrans
HIGHWAY 154 REMAINS CLOSED FOLLOWING WINTER STORM ACTIVITY/CLOSURE BOUNDARY REDUCED
Highway 154 remains closed from the Lake Cachuma State Recreation Area to Paradise Road following a series of winter storms which resulted in a blocked culvert near Lake Cachuma.
Caltrans has initiated an emergency project to clear the opening of this culvert approximately 40 feet below the surface which contains water and debris. Caltrans is removing the water with pumps and cameras to reach the opening of the blocked culvert.
Those wishing to visit Lake Cachuma may do so by traveling Hwy. 154 from the Santa Ynez area. Those traveling from Santa Barbara may only travel to Paradise Road. Businesses along Hwy. 154 remain open.
Motorists may use US Highway 101 as a detour. There is no estimate when this section of Hwy. 154 will re-open.
Update by Caltrans
STATE ROUTE 154 REMAINS CLOSED DUE TO BLOCKED CULVERT FOLLOWING WINTER STORM ACTIVITY
State Route 154 remains closed from the Junction with State Route 246 near Santa Ynez to Paradise Road following a series of winter storms which has resulted in a blocked culvert near Lake Cachuma.
Caltrans has initiated an emergency project to clear the opening of this culvert which is approximately 40 feet below the surface which contains water and debris. Caltrans is making progress in removing the water with the use of pumps and cameras to locate the opening of the blocked culvert.
There is no estimate when this section of Highway 154 will re-open. Motorists may use US Highway 101 as a detour. Caltrans engineers and maintenance staff are working to open the highway as soon as possible.
Businesses along Highway 154 including the area near Stagecoach Road remain open.
Update by edhat staff
Highway 154 remains closed indefinitely near Cachuma Lake following a series of winter storms due to a blocked culvert that resulted in a flow of water on the roadway.
Caltrans is working to clear the opening of this culvert which is 35 feet below the surface of the water and debris.
Highway 154 remains closed between Santa Barbara and SR-246 in Santa Ynez. The roadway is open to residents but through traffic must use Highway 101.
There is no estimate when this section of Highway 154 will re-open. Caltrans engineers and maintenance staff are working to open the highway as soon as possible.
#CAwx- CA 154 remains closed indefinitely near Cachuma Lake. A drainage culvert was filled with debris and water during Saturday’s storm damaging the Hwy. CA 154 is closed between Santa Barbara and CA 246 in Santa Ynez. For everything storm related, go to https://t.co/gujtJTUSEj pic.twitter.com/r7WZZZJj9j
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) February 4, 2019
Update by edhat staff
Highway 154 is still closed between SR-246 and SR-192 until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Residents have access but through traffic must use Highway 101.
Read a more comprehensive storm update here .
Update by edhat staff
The southbound lanes of Highway 101 have reopened as of 4:00 p.m. Saturday. However, the northbound lanes are currently closed. Caltrans is working diligently to reopen the Northbound lanes and it's been reported it could reopen between 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Saturday.
Highway 154 has now closed from SR-192 to SR-246 due to culvert repair and maintenance near Lake Cachuma.
Highway 135 remains closed at Harris Grade.
Current traffic information can be checked through the below links:
Local Roads – Link to Public Works
State Routes and Highways – Link to Caltrans
Read a more comprehensive storm update here.
California Highway Patrol and Caltrans have closed Highway 101 in both directions around 9:30 a.m. Saturday due to heavy rainstorms.
Highway 101 is closed southbound at Milpas Street and northbound at SR-150 in Carpinteria.
CHP Captain Cindy Pontes reports flooding and minor debris in the area and they're taking precautionary measures in case the freeway does get overtaken by flood waters and debris.
There is no way to get around this area, N. Jameson is also closed.
"Please don't get on the roads if you dont need to... avoid area at all costs," said Pontes.
Below is a video of Highway 101 from John Palminteri of KEYT:
59 Comments
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Feb 07, 2019 08:56 AMThe blockage in the pix I sent Ed is at Devaul Canyon, and it appears there may be two blocked culverts (one at each side of the canyon). In my pix there are two backhoes in position, and two stream beds to the lake on the North side of the roadway. There are at least nine pumps at the East side of the canyon. It's here on gMaps - https://goo.gl/maps/q7fzBmpwzcq
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Feb 15, 2019 08:48 AMAnyone know more about the progress on opening the culvert than is posted on the Caltrans site (almost nothing, that is)? Been almost two weeks now. It's beautiful driving along the coast but I'd love to see the lake--over 50% full now!
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Feb 06, 2019 08:25 PMI've just sent Ed two aerial views of the Hwy.154 work at the East end of Cachuma. This afternoon when we flew past, the water level was well below the highway, and the roadway looked clear. Presumably they need to open the culvert before they can open the highway. Didn't see any other areas of 154 with work going on, but maybe there are?
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Feb 06, 2019 09:45 AMTornadoes, the part of the thread talking about that reminds me of my midwestern early years with "air raid" sirens warning of a tornado. (1) Go to basement or cellar, or (2) Get in bathtub and pull a mattress over you, or (3) Get in interior of house in closet and cover head with pillow. Stay away from windows, don't run outside, protect yourself from flying debris. When it's over, check yourself, and if you are ok, see who you can help. Be prepared for people who are bleeding.
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Feb 06, 2019 08:23 AMAny updates on the 154?
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Feb 04, 2019 10:58 PMCounty rain gauge shows Cachuma over 46% now. Hopefully debris and silt from the Whittier burn isn't a big part of that.
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Feb 02, 2019 05:53 PMThe circumnavigation of SB county is complete. I’ll scratch that off my bucket list. The Cayuma valley is so green that my wife remarked that it looked like Ireland with yucca.
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Feb 04, 2019 01:31 PMFlying all corners of SB county is still on my bucket list. :)
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Feb 04, 2019 01:30 PMYes, being within sight of an actual tornadoes isn't on my bucket list. A cutoff one can happen when upper level wind and clouds are moving in a circular pattern, and high speed laminar wind is blowing across it. The effect is a giant eye in the sky, with no indication of a funnel.
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Feb 03, 2019 10:39 AMAt my grandpa’s farm in Kansas there’s a foundation without any structure on it that was taken out by a tornado. The stripped foundation was only ~100’ from the house. Steer clear of those things.
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Feb 03, 2019 08:36 AMOutside of our area, desert areas are already showing a lot of bloom. Anza-Borrego is going to be spectacular, already lots of flowers there. I'm sure Joshua Tree will be wonderful as well.
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Feb 03, 2019 08:34 AMIt should be a fabulous wildflower season. The Playground and Lizard’s mouth will be well watered this year allowing for all the seeds and plants to germinate and bloom.
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Feb 02, 2019 09:59 PM+1 (for a few more days, until G+ shuts down). I too have been enjoying Jeff's updates and am glad he's safely back in our precarious paradise.
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Feb 02, 2019 09:57 PMI've been wondering what wildflower season will be like this year. We saw a magnificent bloom in Cuyama some years ago.
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Feb 02, 2019 09:56 PMGlad you got to see it from a safe distance. We flew under a cut off tornado in KS once, as it happens we'd spent the nite at Liberty, KS where the farmhouse in WofOz was shot. Have seen a waterspout, and a monster dust devil. Used to think a tornado would be fun to see, but now the ones on TV are enough. ;)
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Feb 02, 2019 07:46 PMWelcome home!
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Feb 02, 2019 07:39 PMDrive through Cuyama in August she will say it looks like Mars with yucca.
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Feb 02, 2019 06:40 PMWest of Bakersfield we saw a funnel cloud. It never made it to the ground. The weather warning mentioned that those might occur today. In my whole life I have never seen one here or in the Midwest. We tried to take a photo. Maybe a news outlet from Bakersfield took one.
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Feb 02, 2019 05:43 PMEDHAT the headline is backwards - SB is open, NB still closed. Also, was able to take 192 to Hot Springs to Coast Village Rd, where 101 NB was open.
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Feb 02, 2019 04:34 PMUPDATE:
According to CalTrans public information officer Jim Shivers, US 101 southbound has reopened as of 4 p.m. Northbound lanes should be open between 6 - 8 p.m.
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Feb 02, 2019 04:05 PMHearing 101 S just reopened?
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Feb 02, 2019 02:50 PMSome interesting comments here. Freeway closed so the L.A. Times can't come up?? Not because the road is blocked with mud, rocks and debris but just to keep reporters out? We are so unprepared for this? Maybe commenters could come up with a solution of how the keep (cleared out) creeks from overflowing with mud and debris in a downpour when fire burned hills send the stuff cascading down.
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Feb 05, 2019 07:23 AMFor those interested I encourage you to understand the concept of a floodplains and alluvial fans and how they form. Even after the debris flow last year people simply can't grok how all the boulders found in many areas of our community were emplaced. Examine a geologic cross-section from the ocean to Camino Cielo. The various strata, what geologists term formations(Coldwater,Juncal,etc. ), discontinue. If you extend and extrapolate them into the sky, which is easy to do as many of them are near vertical, in particular the Montecito overturn, imagine the vast quantity of alluvium that has been produced over the eons. Where did it all go? By what mechanism?
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Feb 02, 2019 02:48 PMKEYT as of 2:45:
5pm re-opening expected for Hwy 101 South, Midnight for 101 North
Milpas St. to Highway 150
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Feb 02, 2019 02:36 PMI’m in the beautiful southern end of the Great Central Valley at 166 &I-5 with 2 hours to go.
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Feb 02, 2019 02:18 PMSince the freeway is closed (north) at the 150 Carpinteria Avenue is packed with north bound cars bumper to bumper. I have no idea where they think they are headed or going to pick up the freeway again if it's still closed.
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Feb 02, 2019 02:11 PMTypical!! SB County is afraid of LA news outlets sniffing around so they shit the freeway down. Classic SB!
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Feb 03, 2019 12:41 AMAnd, I was thinking they closed 101 because of the water, mud, and rocks. Who knew anyone would be afraid of LA news?
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Feb 02, 2019 11:26 PMCan you share your thinking with us? Why is SB afraid of LA news? I am really curious.
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Feb 02, 2019 11:24 PMYes, 2:21. I almost did a spit take.
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Feb 02, 2019 03:02 PMWhy would they be afraid of LA news? Except that they sometimes do a better job of reporting than local news.
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Feb 02, 2019 02:21 PMHilarious typo and bizarre reasoning. A+ would laugh again.
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Feb 02, 2019 01:46 PMI’m currently stranded in Summerland. The Highway patrol made an announcement stating the road (101 North) will be closed until at least midnight, but depending on the next storms severity, it will likely not be opened up to us until tmrw.
Only way is up around los Padres... 33-> 166-> 101 South- 4 hours of driving.
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Feb 02, 2019 03:36 PMIt’s closed. Everything through Montecito is closed
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Feb 02, 2019 03:20 PMForget using the 33. You've got to use the 5 from LA.
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Feb 02, 2019 02:41 PMIs 192 closed also? Can't go through Montecito?
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Feb 02, 2019 01:28 PMWith pretty meager amounts of rain fall today, see the 24 hour totals below, I really am surprised how unprepared this area really is. There really was no significant per hour rainfall rates or debris flow, but so much of our infrastructure has unraveled. I shudder to think of what will happen when we really get doused.
24-HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS: 11 a.m. Saturday
Lake Cachuma 2.89"
Carpinteria 1.51""
Cold Spring Debris Basin 1.94"
Goleta 2.60"
Lompoc 1.97"
Montecito 1.67"
San Marcos Pass 3.81"
Santa Barbara 2.44"
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Feb 02, 2019 11:22 PMI wondered about Edhat's mountain dwellers. Nice to hear from you. -----------------------------
http://rain.cosbpw.net/home.php
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Feb 02, 2019 11:19 PMMeager?! ok, whatever. https://ksby.com/news/local-news/2019/02/02/resident-captures-flash-flood-in-whittier-fire-burn-area-on-video
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Feb 02, 2019 02:46 PMIt rained .6 inch at our house in the foothills in a half hour this morning around breakfast time, and 1.6 inches in the four hours from 8 to noon--average of .4 inch an hour. Lots of surface flooding for about an hour after the downpour around 8:30-9. It's not the totals that are so important, it's the intensity. We learned a lot about that last January.
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Feb 02, 2019 12:33 PMAccording to Santa Barbara family life magazine there are currently no routes through Montecito either north or south
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Feb 02, 2019 12:59 PMAs of 12:55 all N-bnd Amtrak trains are still held up at Ventura, some going into the 3 rd hour.
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Feb 02, 2019 12:43 PMOur Carp friend said there was no way to get through and all the train ticks T’s are sold. If you need to get south or north head to I5.
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Feb 02, 2019 12:31 PMWe are now coming home via Bakersfield. Hopefully that route will hold up.
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Feb 02, 2019 12:27 PMAny updates on time frame? I need to be in LA before dinner!
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Feb 02, 2019 01:47 PMDoubtful- I would let go of that hope now. I have.
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Feb 02, 2019 11:32 AMDoes anyone know if the 192 is open from Casitas Pass?
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Feb 02, 2019 01:18 PMThank you, horsegirl.
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Feb 02, 2019 12:08 PMNo it’s closed at Romero. Closed in several places. Jameson closed as well
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Feb 02, 2019 11:25 AMStuck in Camarillo trying to get back to SB. Does anyone know if the trains are still running?
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