Letter: Thanks to Caltrans and community

EDITOR,
I was very happy when I heard the Caltrans announcement that Highway 236 from Boulder Creek would be fully open to the public without restrictions by the evening of Friday, Aug. 7. Caltrans did a great job and completed a major engineering project in a relatively short time.
When I first heard that all of Highway 236 would be closed during the repair period, I knew it would be a major disruption to the people in the community, particularly those living on a parallel single-lane side road that would get the brunt of diverted traffic. The county Public Works Department was very helpful in getting our message to Caltrans that they had to make adequate arrangements to control traffic flow. With some deliberation, Caltrans recognized the need and did the right thing.
The community was wonderful during the period of disruption. For the most part, people were patient with the delays.
With Caltrans providing the proper support for traffic controls, people were only somewhat inconvenienced. People in the mountains are used to dealing with emergency situations, especially when good preparations are made in advance.
Caltrans did announce one more slight disruption expected sometime around the end of August. Crews will relocate some utilities that will require one-way traffic control for about a week.
On the whole, the emergency project was a fast response from the state, and it will be great to have the road to Big Basin fully restored.
I want to thank everyone involved for pulling together during a difficult time: Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the county Sheriff’s Department, public works staff, Cal Fire, Boulder Creek fire, the Metro Transit District, GreenWaste, the U.S. Postal Service, the local residents and especially the residents of Acorn Drive all deserve praise for making the repair project a success.
Mark Stone, Santa Cruz County supervisor, fifth district