Western Siskiyou County has become a bit more remote as an active, slow-moving landslide threatens travel along state Highway 96.
The slide about four miles west of Happy Camp was already an issue when an emergency repair contract was issued this summer. But the rains arrived before the overhanging hillside was secured.
“We have basically intermittent closures at this time, and I believe pretty much it’s going to be like this until the rains stop.” Resident Engineer at Caltrans Jeff Steppat said.
Officials say it’s a geologically active area where slides are fairly common. Workers will eventually trim back the hillside, making it less steep and therefore less inclined to slide before securing it. But none of that can happen before spring.
For now, Caltrans has crews monitoring the hillside around the clock, and that precautionary overnight closures may happen when rain is expected.
“If we have extensive rain and it just gets too unstable, we may have a longer term closure of a day or two until it dries up and we can clean it up and hopefully get traffic back through.” Steppat said.
There’s no real detour available to bypass the slide.