UPDATE 12/15/16 at 5pm: From the Point Arena Facebook page: The Garcia River is currently at 15.5 ft. It is not forecast to fall to a level low enough to open Highway 1 until late tonight or early Friday morning. Port Road in Point Arena is now open but please exercise caution as there is still some minor flooding.
AT 4PM: Caltrans has announced that flooding is closing roads all around Mendocino County with no estimated time of opening. Right now Rt. 1 is closed at the Garcia River (post marker 18 – 18.5), and “A half-mile of route 175 near the junction with U.S. Highway 101 in Hopland in Mendocino County is closed due to flooding.” Caltrans also posted: “Not to be outdone by the Garcia River, the Navarro River has closed Route 128 in Mendocino County for a ten mile stretch near the junction with Route 1.” We’ll be updated info when it becomes available.
MENDOCINO Co. 12/15/2016 — Cars are going off the road this morning. On the 101 southbound near Calpella, a Honda Civic went over the edge of the road. An ambulance was called, but CHP determined there were no injuries.
A pickup truck with the keys locked inside is off the roadway on Highway 128 near Boonville. A tow truck was scheduled to tow it at 8:30am for better visibility.
Highway 101 is still closed from Piercy, in northern Mendocino County, to the Humboldt County line, from mile marker 106.80 to mile marker 103.97. There is currently a detour diverting traffic from Highway 101 to Highway 271, due to emergency work expected to be finished December 30.
You can check the most recent road conditions at the Caltrans website and CHP incident pages, as well as through updates on Facebook. We will be updating this page as information becomes available. Flooding is also anticipated in small streams and low-lying areas as well as for the main stems of rivers including the Eel, the Navarro, and the Russian, which may close Highway 128. Water levels will continue to rise even after rainfall stops due to runoff from earlier rains. We will try to update as information becomes available. See more information about the ongoing storm here.
The following roads will be closed until further notice:
Miner Hole Road, at mile marker 0.15 (600 feet from Highway 1, in Point Arena)
Fort Bragg, Sherwood Road, from mile marker 5.08 to 27.54
Ten Mile Road, from mile marker 0.18 to 1.68
Navarro Ridge Road, from mile marker 8.82 to 13.10
Usal Road, from mile marker 6.26 to 24.30
One of two lanes on Highway 101 at Cal Fire at Leggett is still closed, due to work expected to be done January 31.
One-way traffic control is still expected on the 101 near Steele Lane in Laytonville due to utility repairs.
Further south, one of two lanes on the 101 north of Cloverdale is closed, due to work from 1.5 miles north of Comminsky Station Road to north of Frog Woman Rock expected to be finished December 31.
Beginning Monday, December 12, CalTrans will be doing routine maintenance on the 101 from Reeves Canyon Road to Black Bart Drive. There should be slowdowns from 8am to 4pm weekdays.
Far north, near Manor Lane on the 101, PG&E will be doing utility repairs starting December 9. The road will be closed completely at intermittent intervals from 9am to 4pm.
On the 101 near Standish-Hickey State Park, emergency slide repairs are ongoing, with a temporary signal 24/7.
PG&E also has a permit to do utility repairs on the Elizabeth Jane Rosewarne Memorial Bridge, which is the northern span of the Eel River Bridge on Highway 101. Work will begin December 12. One-way traffic control will be in effect 8am to noon.
On Route 162, near the Middle Fork Eel River Bridge, motorists can expect one-way traffic control from 8am to 4pm weekdays, due to geotechnical studies.
On Route 1, starting December 15, motorists should expect five-minute delays and one-way traffic control from 9am to 3pm weekdays, due to utility work near Fish Rock Road.
Also on Route 1, bridge repairs at Brush Creek continues, with one-way traffic control on weekdays from 7am to 11pm.
On Route 20, pavement work from the North Calplella Overcrossing to Cold Creek Bridge #3 continues, with one-way traffic control on weekdays.