Roundup: Road work to slow Highway 33 traffic in Casitas Springs, more news
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
Paving work to impact Highway 33 traffic
Ojai Valley residents and visitors may be delayed on Highway 33 in the Casitas Springs area when a repaving project starts Monday.
A section will be reduced to a single lane during the daytime as crews pave the southbound lane between Sulphur Mountain and Nye roads, the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, said Thursday.
Work is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day through Friday. Lanes will reopen in the evening.
The project, which will improve more than a mile of the roadway, will start Monday near the junction with Sulphur Mountain Road. Workers will move south each day and are scheduled to finish up on Friday just south of Nye Road.
Marc Bischoff, a spokesman for Caltrans, said flaggers will allow motorists through the northbound lane, alternating northbound and southbound drivers.
Caltrans officials suggest using an alternate route along Casitas Vista Road and Santa Ana Road.
The slowdown will add to extra traffic on the route due to a landslide that has shut Highway 150 north of Santa Paula since February, closing the only direct route between Santa Paula and Ojai. Those drivers must now loop through Ventura on Highway 101 and take the 33 into Ojai.
Stabbing suspect arrested
A 27-year-old Simi Valley man was arrested early Thursday after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance during a fight in Ventura.
The incident was reported shortly after midnight in the 200 block of Jordan Avenue, Ventura Police Department officials said in a news release. The block is in a residential neighborhood located west of Seaward Avenue on the north side of Highway 101.
The victim was stabbed in the neck with an unknown object, authorities said. The injury did not appear to be life-threatening. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.
The victim told officers he had been visiting the residence when he heard noises in the backyard. He checked the backyard and found the suspect, whom he knew, according to the police account. A verbal argument between the two escalated into a physical fight when the stabbing occurred.
Officers found the suspect a short distance from the home. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting officers. He remained at the main jail Thursday evening with bail set at $50,000, jail records showed.
Overnight lane closures on Hwy 150 in Ojai
Highway 150 will have a lane closed overnight in Ojai and Mira Monte starting Monday for pavement grinding work, Caltrans officials said. Drivers should expect delays.
Work will affect the route between Burnham and Gorham roads from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Friday. Flaggers will alternate traffic through closed portions.
On the night of May 13, one lane along the same stretch will be closed at various intersections for digout patches, according to a Caltrans news release.
The pre-pave grinding is part of a $12.4 million project to upgrade lanes, street signals and curbs to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The pavement schedule hasn't been set yet, officials said.
Repairs continue on Highway 33 above Ojai
Emergency repairs of storm-damaged sections of remote Highway 33 above Ojai will continue at least through summer, Caltrans officials said in a news release.
Six construction zones are active on a 32-mile stretch of highway from the Cozy Dell Trailhead near the Friend's Ranch packinghouse to about 4 miles south of Lockwood Valley Road.
At the construction zones, solar-powered signals alternate traffic through a single lane. Elsewhere, both lanes of the two-way route remain open.
The highway, which cuts through rugged Los Padres National Forest land, suffered collapses, mudslides, rock slides and erosion during powerful winter storms in the 2022-23 rainy season, officials said. Additional rain this winter caused intermittent work stoppages.
Crews still need to build four retaining walls and repair slopes and roadways in multiple locations, Caltrans officials said. Drainage will also be installed in places.
The repairs are estimated to cost $35 million.
Items may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Road work to slow Highway 33 traffic in Casitas Springs, more
