Director's Message

From late December through March, a relentless series of deadly storms hammered the state with an unyielding force, causing flooding, mudslides, rockslides, downed trees, highway closures and evacuations. The destruction was overwhelming – but not intimidating.

The tremendous challenge of the winter storms brought out the best of our Caltrans road and emergency crews.

The bell rang for 2,500 employees and 314 of our road crews to respond to the mighty challenge. In a time that required one of our greatest and boldest efforts, Caltrans Road crews bravely overcame the storms’ brutal elements to safely restore order on our roads and highways.

Here’s a snapshot of what was accomplished.

• On Highway 50, just east of Kyburz, a Caltrans explosives team helped clear the highway of several large boulders that brought traffic to a halt.
• On Highway 1 near Santa Cruz, our teams were successful in re-opening a stretch of highway that had been marred by fallen trees and other debris beneath the bridge over the San Lorenzo River.
• Our District 10 crews answered the call after a rockslide on State Route 140 in Mariposa County near Yosemite Park forced a highway closure. Cleanup work continued through March, after which a one-lane opening was planned for two weeks before an anticipated full reopening.
• District 5 crews were successful in the re-opening of Highway 154 from Santa Ynez Valley to Santa Barbara. Our crews cleared rockfalls and mudslides from the roadway, fixed drainage and conducted slope assessments for safety.
• Massive flooding had a major impact on a stretch of Highway 99 in San Joaquin County near Lodi. Our road crews worked tirelessly to recently re-open one northbound lane of the highway.
• District 4 emergency crews went right to work in response to a sinkhole on Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County. Two-way traffic control was implemented while our crews continued their outstanding work on repairing the sinkhole.
• In March, District 9 crews confronted flooding and related debris that forced the temporary closure of U.S. Highway 395 from Pearsonville (just north of Ridgecrest) all the way up to Lone Pine. Elsewhere in the district, snow-removal operations were in full force for most of the winter.
• District 3’s roadway-clearing crews worked long hours under challenging conditions in maintaining two vital commercial and tourism routes over the Sierra Nevada range: Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50.

The safety precautions our crews took in the face of the storms only reinforces our strong commitment to safety as Caltrans’ number one priority.

The storms proved to be a true test for our Safe Systems Approach, Move Over Safety Campaign, Be Work Zone Alert, our 28 Proven Safety Countermeasures and Road Safety Action Plan – just to name a few.

We realize there will always be risks. On average, about 12 people lose their lives daily on California’s roadways, with nearly four of those deaths occurring on our state highway system.

There is only one number I find that is acceptable when it comes to fatalities and injuries: and that number is zero.

Moving toward zero deaths is why I remain resolute in our quest to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on all California roadways by 2050.

Our commitment will never waver. Our road crews are a testament to that.

From the tip of the Oregon border to the heavy rural areas of the Central Valley, the rugged California coastline all the way to regions throughout southern California, Caltrans work crews found a way to counter the unforgiving effect of these storms.

As it turned out, Mother Nature’s wrath was no match for the resilience and spirit of our road crews – qualities that only bring out the best of who we are. Our next big challenge could very well be flooding that might result from the season's above-average rain and snowfall. We stand ready to work with and support affected communities in the coming months.