With the prospect of winter weather looming on the horizon, work has halted on improvements to Graham Hill Road in Felton.
“We’re buttoned up for the winter,” said Steve Wiesner, assistant director for the Santa Cruz County Department of Public Works. “The next phase is to relocate the utility poles.”
The goal of the $2.7 million project is to create a greater margin for error on the treacherous roadway entering Felton by expanding the shoulders on both sides, modernizing the drainage system and adding a 200-foot left-turn pocket outside the main entrance to Roaring Camp Railroads.
So far, part of the roadway has been widened and the drainage system is nearly intact.
According to Wiesner, the job is on schedule, and construction will resume in April or May, weather permitting. It should be finished by the end of the summer.
Most county-led construction takes place between April and October, as grading regulations become more restrictive in wet-weather months.
“Our goal is to be out of any dirt work by October 15,” Wiesner said.
While construction crews are away for the winter, utility companies will be charged with moving the power lines that run along the roadway before road work resumes next year.
Several measures will temporarily stabilize the hillsides that have been cut back and disturbed by the construction, Wiesner said, to prevent mudslides and erosion.
The partially completed drainage system along the roadway is functional, though limited, and should be adequate for a rainy winter. Crews also have sprayed hillsides with a green-colored slurry of paper mulch and seeds. The grassy-hued hillsides can be seen from the roadway.
Through the process, called hydroseeding, the mulch mixture solidifies into a crust — similar to papier-mâché, Wiesner said — that encapsulates sterile seeds and helps them germinate. The seeds sprout roots, and those roots hold the exposed soil in place.
Wiesner said the seeds are chosen not to interfere with native plant populations and are sterilized to prevent their spread after the initial growth.
As far as safety, Wiesner said, the grooved pavement along the lower part of the often-dangerous road is intact, and drivers should expect typical conditions on the roadway in the winter.
“We still caution people to drive safely through there,” he said. “It is still an active construction site.”
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