A section of Highway 101 in Mendocino County that has been closed twice in the last month by rockslides had just reopened Monday when the hill began giving way again Tuesday night, and Caltrans workers stopped traffic for safety. The video above, uploaded today, was shot by Briceland resident Wendy Kornberg just as rocks began tumbling down the hillside. In it you can see the Caltrans crew run out of the way as full landslide comes down, knocking down temporary barriers and again filling the roadway with debris.
Workers had just finished clearing 82 dump truck loads of debris over the last week, as SF Gate notes, after a landslide had shut down this two-lane section of the 101 on April 16, six miles north of the town of Leggett. As the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports, the previous landslide occurred on March 10, and all of this movement is likely the result of heavy rains and temperature changes between storms.
The landslide that began on April 16 also doubled in size by April 19, and it doesn't look like this hill wants to stop tumbling.
Highway 101 landslide doubles in size overnight https://t.co/k3lVBaY3Uv pic.twitter.com/qnxqclAcbE
— Times-Standard (@eurekaTS) April 20, 2017
Multiple rock and mudslides have hampered travel on this section of the highway, and Caltrans doesn't expect emergency repairs to be complete until May 31. Highway 101 is again closed in both directions, and drivers are being sent on an hours-long detour using the I-5 freeway, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. There is currently no new estimate for when the roadway will reopen, but crews were cleared to begin yet another cleanup Wednesday morning.
The last one lasted over a week.
Related: Major Mudslide Shuts Down I-80 Near Auburn In Both Directions