Major repairs to damage from winter storms will result in the closure of Highway 35 in the Santa Cruz Mountains beginning Monday, Oct. 2.
This closure will be in place approximately three miles north of the junction of Highway 35 and Highway 17, near Bear Creek Road.
Using cranes and heavy machinery, crews will excavate at the repair site and construct a soldier pile wall to shore up a lane of the roadway that sustained damage during winter storms.
Weather permitting, Highway 35 is scheduled to remain closed at this location until Dec. 10. Once the work is completed, this section will remain under one-way traffic control for several weeks, according to Caltrans.
Message and directional signs have been placed in advance of the project area.
As a Bear Creek Road resident I’m interested to understand the exact location of this work. Most of us refer to the section of road north of Summit Road as “Bear Creek Road.” Hwy 35 North begins at Bear Creek Road a mile or so north of Summit. This section of Bear Creek Road sustained a slip out during last winter’s storms and has been reduced to one lane with STOP signs in each direction. Obviously this section of road needs to be replaced but it’s hard to imagine shutting down the main (and candidly only) real artery for Bear Creek/Boulder Creek neighbors access to Hwy 17 (North or South). Routing the hundreds (thousands?) of commuters on to Hwy 35 and down Gist or Black, doesn’t seem like a great idea for both commuters and the residents of both communities. Please confirm the location of this closure.
I’m not with Caltrans, but Highway 35 runs from Skyline Blvd.east on Bear Creek and then turns south onto Summit Road to where Summit crosses Highway 17.
It is my understanding that the closure is only on the Bear Creek Rd. portion Hwy. 35 from Summit to Skyline.