Copyright (C) 2002-2018 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, www.Californiacoastline.org Used with permission.
Thanks to Barbara for finding this for me.
Category: Road Conditions
Mud Creek Contract and other oddities, 5/5/18
Yesterday, I finally had the time to go through the Mud Creek contract first awarded to Madonna Construction on 1/19/17. I’ve pulled out a few bits of information, took some screen shots, sent off emails to Cal Trans for comments, and otherwise started research and analysis. There is still much to discover and understand, but given that no one at Cal Trans has thus far responded, I decided to publish what I have today.
The original contract provided for removing slide material, installing rock nets, and restoring facilities to enable reopening the highway. This contract was awarded 1/19/17 and signed 3/17/17. It was for 30 days at a cost of $2,500,000. It is a public works contract specifically excluded from 2 CCR § 547.59. (California Code of Regulations.) It is exempt from public bidding as explained in the State Contracts Manual (SCM) §5.80 (A)(3) which states: “As noted in section 5.05, competitive bidding is required unless there is a legally authorized basis for bid exemption. Key exemption categories are identified below. A. Statutory Exemptions: 3. Emergency contracts. The work or service is for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, safety, or protection of State property (PCC §§ 1102, 10340).”
On 4/6/17, the original contract was modified to increase the contract from $2,500,000 to $9,500,000 an increase of 3 and 1/2 times the original amount and added 80 days for completion, for a total of 110 days. After the BIG slide on 5/19/17, The Contract was again modified two months later on 7/18/17 to $12,000,000 and another 60 days was added to the contract for a total of 170 days. Two more modifications, one on 9/20/17 for an additional amount of $32,000,000 and an addition of 150 WORKING days (30 weeks) for a total of 320 days, and another on 9/18/17 of total amount of $56,000,000 (previously awarded, PLUS the requested additional $32,000,000) would then take the contract to the end of April 2018.
By my calculations, the time and the $56,000,000 award ran out on 4/18/18 although the first page reproduced above says “end of April” so the contract has been renewed or is in the process of being renewed. I asked for the extension on this contract, but have yet to receive it. I will discuss it when received and will follow-up on that next week.
Besides the contract itself, I also inquired about the excavation going on at Grey Slip, a few miles south of Mud Creek, to obtain fill material. Grey Slip is another area of prior road issues. I asked Cal Trans to comment on this yesterday, but so far have not received any response. One local was told that they had originally started excavation on the west side, but after some movement, moved to the east. I have not been able to confirm this, as Cal Trans did not respond to my questions. I looked through some of my photographs to see if I could find an older one to show any prior issues at this point, but haven’t been able to locate one. Rock Knocker put all his old photos in a storage unit in Paso/Templeton, so no help there. If anyone else has a photo of Grey Slip in prior years, I would love to see it.
This is what is happening at Grey Slip currently:
Climbing Lane Community Meeting
HIGHWAY 1 CLIMBING LANE PROJECT COMMUNITY MEETING MAY 8th
If you have been impacted by the Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project and want to know more about what to expect during the next four months of construction, please plan to attend a community meeting on Tuesday, May 8th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Carmel River Elementary School, located at Monte Verde Street and 15th Avenue in Carmel.
Hosted by 5th District Supervisor Mary Adams, this community meeting will provide an overview of the project, an explanation of the various stages of construction, a project timeline and information on how to stay informed about traffic impacts during construction.
Supervisor Mary Adam’s Office and staff from the Monterey County Resource Management Agency – Public Works will be on hand to hear your comments and concerns.
For more information or to sign up for project updates, please contact Christine Poe atPoeC@co.monterey.ca.us or (831)755-5025, or Grant Leonard at grant@tamcmonterey.org or 831-775-4402.
Road Widening between Bixby & Rocky?
Anyone seen this sign and know what is going on? Sent to me by Ken Ekelund:
Here is the original project description document:
Highway Closure Update, 4/24/18
Photos (1-2) of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) from Friday, April 20; (3-5) of the Coastlands (PM 44.41) south of PCB taken Friday, April 20, pictures of “Geo Web” before and after being covered up by soil—it helps stabilize the slope.
HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Tuesday, April 24
State Route 1 in Monterey County remains closed from north of Salmon Creek, just south of the Ranger Station (PM 3) to just south of Gorda (PM 10) due to the Mud Creek slide. State Route 1 south of Salmon Creek is accessible via State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County near Ragged Point.
REMINDER: Travelers still CANNOT access the entire length of Highway 1 from Carmel to Cambria but local businesses are open on both sides of Mud Creek.
Mud Creek (PM 8.9)
Mud Creek had a major slide on Saturday, May 20, 2017, losing over 5 million cubic yards of material. Caltrans continues with its plan to realign the existing terrain with the projected timeline to safely open to public traffic is late-summer 2018 at an estimated cost of $40 million. A more specific opening schedule will be announced in next week’s update.
This week: Work continues on the north cut, middle and north fills, and on north berm.
There is currently no public/local access through the Mud Creek area since this remains an active, emergency construction zone.
Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)
Paul’s Slide was cleaned up last week from debris and slide material. It is still active but the 24/7traffic signal remains in place and temporary guardrail (k-rail) in the centerline.
ADDITIONAL WORK—CALPORTLAND PAVING BETWEEN LUCIA (PM 23) AND JUST SOUTH OF PCB (45.52)
Final items continue taking place. Metal Beam Guardrail (MBGR) end treatment work at Castro Canyon (PM 43.12) and slope work at the Coastlands (PM 44.41) is taking place. Last week Geo Web was installed to help stabilize the slope (see pix above). This week we are adding recessed marker to the striping.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.
The next update will be on Monday, April 30 ☺
Susana Z. Cruz
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer
Tourist Tuesdays, 4/17/18
It is hard to write anything for today, after dealing with the Rio Rd. fiasco all weekend, for the second weekend in a row, and also seeing and hearing – loud parties, drunks asleep in the middle of the road, and booming speakers – what people did in my neighborhood. None of what you see below was here a few years ago, and the off-roading was twice as bad on Sunday as it was on Wednesday when I went down the hill to town. So many new tracks and destruction over the weekend. I am saddened beyond belief and my hope in maintaining any semblance of wilderness has been shaken. Soon, all the wildflowers, grasses, and wildlife will be gone.
Tomorrow I will be attending the MCCVB Sustainability Forum, and it will be a challenge for me. I want people who contribute to this madness to be held responsible for the damage. I want those charged with protecting the wilderness, the coast, the highway, and the community to take responsibility. Have we reached the tipping point? Are we past the point of no return?
Tourist Tuesdays, 4/10/18
Noon, from a Highlands Neighbor:
”I called Christine Poe around 9:30 and was transferred to her after a short wait. She was very understanding of the frustration we are all experiencing in getting through the Rio Road/Hwy. 1 intersection. I mainly spoke with her regarding the safety issues of having that intersection blocked if there an emergency, the possible impatience of a driver deciding to pass other vehicles, and the lack of well timed traffic lights. She did tell me that engineers were scheduled to be at the site today to discuss the traffic situation and she would add my safety concerns to their discussion. She also suggested having Highway Patrol there to control traffic in person might alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, the CHP site notes that they do not have the man power to do so.”
6:30 am – With the road work at Rio Rd. to last through the summer, this will be the 3d summer in a row where local Big Sur businesses face challenges. Patience will be required, and weekend trips to town will be curtailed. Three big events are scheduled during this construction project: Big Sur Marathon, Sea Otter Classic, and Amgen. The Concours is scheduled for the end of August. Any bets on whether the construction will be finished in time?
I am taking this day off from Tourists and Tourism and enjoying the spring weather and planning for gardening projects. I need grounding and balance.
Nightmare at Rio Rd., 4/9/18
And this is the official response from Cal Trans:
”Thank you for your recent inquiry, notifying Caltrans about the traffic issues you experienced at Highway 1 and Rio Road. The construction is part of a climbing lane project that involves widening the east side of Highway 1. This project is led by Monterey County. Late last week, the project team needed to shift traffic to the west side of the highway in order to continue construction on the east side. The county and its construction contractor are working on making adjustments this week that will help alleviate some of the traffic concerns, especially to northbound Hwy. 1 traffic. Looking forward, the project is scheduled for completion in late summer.
For additional information please contact Christina Poe at the County of Monterey at Poec@co.monterey.ca.us.” (Christine Poe 831-755-5025.)
Added later, from another reader: “Sunday traffic hwy 1 @6pm from south end Yankee Pt…traffic going north was visable to Otter Cove and further beyond. Crawed to Rio Rd 1:40 one car at a time. No other cars at other three lights. NORTH BOUND NEEDS HELP!”
Both Saturday and Sunday, I received reports & complaints re the problems with the construction at Rio Rd. People were bascially unable to get to town, if needed. Here are a few of the screen shots they sent me or posted. Also, I forwarded all these photos on to Cal Trans last night. While Cal Trans is not the project manager, only provides oversight, it is a joint project for MoCo, TAMC, and Cal Trans, Cal Trans indicated they would forward on to the project manager. The first one is from Saturday, and the last two are from Sunday. Let’s keep documenting this. It is supposed to last through August.
MoCo road map, 1935
just for grins. Download so you can zoom, if you wish.Here is the link:
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~247320~5515371:Monterey-County-
An odd Foto Saturday
at Villa Creek pull out today from Cruickshank trail. No comment.
