Caltrans Has Implemented One-way Traffic Control
Update January 15, 2026
Caltrans has added traffic signals to the slide area to operate the one-way traffic control. The signal operates on a 90/90/90 basis: 90 seconds of green for eastbound traffic, followed by 90 seconds of red in both directions to clear traffic, then 90 seconds of green for westbound traffic, followed by 90 seconds of red in both directions, and so forth.
The signals are solar-powered, as are the nighttime work lights, which is good news for the neighbors who disliked the noise from the generators used to power the original nighttime lights. So, unless there's emergency night work that requires generating electricity or the weather is so cloudy that solar batteries won't charge, generator noise will, for the most part, be a daytime occurrence.
New pictures taken from above the Russian River show the current extent of the slide. Also, visible in the photos is another retaining wall, built in 1999, west of the current slide.
Update January 9, 2026
Caltrans hired an emergency contractor who arrived at the site yesterday, January 8, to stabilize the highway. Using a crane with a large auger, the contractor drilled through the pavement and earth below the eastbound lane, lowered steel beams into the holes, and backfilled them with gravel.
The steel beams will serve as the support columns for a temporary retaining wall that will stabilize the road.
January 7, 2026 - Weeks of heavy rain and a swiftly flowing Russian River have caused the earth to give way along the eastbound shoulder of Route 116 between Duncan Road and Monte Cristo Avenue just west of Monte Rio in Sonoma County.
The slide happened at about 4:00 PM on Monday, January 5, taking out guardrail and trees, undermining a 40-foot section of the eastbound shoulder. By the next day, the slide had grown to 100 feet in length.
Caltrans maintenance crews have put the road under one-way traffic control as project managers work to secure funding and engineers consider design options to repair the subsiding road.
It is likely that repairs would involve two stages, one to temporarily bolster the road and another to make long-lasting repairs. In the meantime, the damaged road will likely remain under one-way traffic control.
