Portions of Big Bear highway collapse amid rain damage
Various portions of Highway 330 to Big Bear collapsed after recent rainstorms caused the road to buckle, transportation officials said Monday.
A large portion of the road crumbled Dec. 20 and other sections have been damaged since, prompting the closure, said Caltrans spokesman Darin Cooke.
“State Route 330 will remain closed possibly through the winter due to damage sustained during recent storm events,” said Caltrans spokeswoman Shelli Lombardo.
Geologists surveyed the mountain road Monday to assess the damage and prepare a plan of action, she said.
“If you look up to the side" of the mountain, she said, "the slope slid; and as a result of that, the road buckled. This has happened on the mountain before, and we’ve had to wait all winter till the mountain dried out and we could fix the road.”
Officials are rerouting motorists traveling to Big Bear onto State Route 38 through Redlands. Highway 18 was also closed to traffic but may reopen sooner because damage was not as severe as officials initially thought, Lombardo said.
She said there is no chains requirement for cars now but urged drivers to carry chains in their vehicles if they planned to drive up to Big Bear.
ALSO:
Girl rescued from creek in Orange park
Residents claim Disney construction damaged their homes
Rains overwhelmed many of the region's sewage systems, fouling beaches
-- Nardine Saad
Photo: Portion of Highway 330. Credit: KTLA News
EDITOR'S PICKS:
It's a good thing that guardrail survived intact.
Posted by: patrick | December 27, 2010 at 04:42 PM
Yeesh.
Posted by: Greg Maragos | December 27, 2010 at 06:06 PM
I feel for the folks in Running Springs, because, for them, there is no real "alternate route". I owned a weekend place there from 2002 to 2006, and because of fires, slides, and maintenance work on 330 I probably lost 3-4 months of usage of my place. It was simply a huge hassle to drive in via Lake Arrowhead -- it added 20-30 minutes to what was normally a 90 minute drive from L.A. via 330. Because 330 rises steeply up from the Highland area, you don't get into fog until you're almost into Running Springs, but coming in from Arrowhead on 18 you're on Rim of the World for what seems like forever -- in heavy fog. Not much fun...
Posted by: Shawdog | December 27, 2010 at 07:34 PM
Darn...Guess that snowboarding trip is off...oh, wait...I don't snowboard...
Posted by: OCAl | December 27, 2010 at 07:42 PM
Chains arent going to do any good , with a Huge Hole in the Road !!
Posted by: Kathleen | December 27, 2010 at 08:47 PM
the road is falling said chickhen little
Posted by: Kathleen | December 27, 2010 at 08:48 PM
We Californians are more brave than we think we are.
Posted by: Sampsa Lopponen | December 27, 2010 at 09:44 PM
Highway 18 is now open
Posted by: Randy | December 27, 2010 at 10:56 PM
Oh my gosh that is crazy! Me and my family were going to go skiing there pretty soon. I hope the road can be fixed ? The only thing left is that gaurd rail but what good is it if there isn't even a road?
Posted by: Bryn Welch | December 27, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Looks like a stunt for Tony Hawk on that guard rail...bet he could boardslide that bad boy to the other side no problem...
Now if we could only all skate like he does...who would need roads?
*Chris Farley and David Spade voice*
RooOOOooooAaaaads!
Posted by: westsidejesse | December 28, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Another reason why flying cars would be AWESOME
Posted by: Cameron | December 30, 2010 at 06:35 PM