Caltrans: Highway repair project in Kern River Canyon should be done by early August
Caltrans still refers to it an "emergency repair project."
But nearly a year after cracks in the asphalt were first spotted on Highway 178 in the Kern River Canyon, and five months after a Caltrans contractor began work on the project, the one-way traffic control and heavy equipment operators remain in place even as the completion of the project still appears to be months away.
Ahron Hakimi, executive director of Kern Council of Governments, which focuses on countywide transportation matters, is frustrated that the state agency is still slugging away at the repair project, after Caltrans estimated it would be done in April.
It’s not a big deal to be asked to wait five minutes, he acknowledged, referring to the short wait times.
"But is it an emergency or not?"
Traffic control measures allow vehicles to pass the damaged section of road, one direction at a time while drivers at the other end wait up to five minutes for their turn to proceed.
"178 is a critical link between Bakersfield and the Kern River Valley," Hakimi said. "Hundreds of people rely on that road every day, not just for work but for doctors appointments, jury duty and school."
Caltrans spokesman Christian Lukens said one of the reasons the project is dragging is engineers have been using a drilling rig, a "laborious practice," Lukens said.
"They're drilling clean through rock."
The 2023 water year was one of the biggest on record, and it is believed high flows of snowmelt in the Kern River undercut the highway foundation, causing the road surface to slip toward the river.
The drilling and excavation now underway will allow workers to build a 300-foot-long retaining wall — significantly longer than what was previously in place — to protect the integrity of the highway, Lukens said.
The holes drilled into solid rock will provide "the vertical foundation for the wall," he said.
The work being done at Postmile 21.1, between Stark Creek and Lucas Creek, means one-way traffic control must remain in place during this stage of the project.
But a second drilling rig added around mid-April should help speed up the drilling process, Lukens said.
Drilling operations are expected to be completed in late June, Lukens said. Excavation operations are taking place concurrently with drilling operations.
Lukens said the reason the project is referred to as an "emergency" project is because it was neither planned nor pre-designed, but came about because of extraordinary conditions.
In addition, it received no federal funding or special funding assistance.
"The project's estimated end-date," he said, "is late July or early August."
