Storm Induced Road Damage

• In light of recent intense storms, one of the major issues in regard to regional transportation facing Santa Cruz County has been intense road and infrastructure damage, estimated to have caused 20 million dollars worth of road damage and $1,685,000 worth of damage to local water supply lines in the last month.
• With Santa Cruz County having received some of the heaviest damage in the state and the Public Works Department running on overdrive, the City and the County have declared an emergency and are in desperate need of federal funding from the Federal Highway Administration to repair the country-wide extreme road damage sustained by intense flooding, falling trees and mudslides.
• A vast majority of the damage has occurred in District 5 of Santa Cruz County, made up of San Lorenzo Valley, the Santa Cruz mountains, and the city of Scotts valley, with some of the worst damage striking Zayante Canyon, the Narrows, Bear Creek, and Nelson Road. Dangerous mudslides, falling trees, and collapsing mountainsides in areas of the Santa Cruz mountains have prevented road access to mountain living residents, sealing residents into their homes for days at a time, and posing a major fire hazard for the future if not repaired soon. 
• While federal funding is expected within the coming weeks, it is unlikely that such funding will be utilized until the storms blow over and there is a consistent break from the rains.

For questions and more information please contact the Santa Cruz Public Works department.