Highway 18 Progress Update with Photos of the Drive

February 27, 2019 admin News 6

An extended heavy downpour with concurrent localized flooding during the Valentine’s Day storm of 2019, caused a large section of Highway 18 to washout in a section known as “13 Curves.” This prompted a hard closure of the highway from Green Valley Lake Road to the Big Bear Dam.

The video and picture above was taken during the storm while the roadway was being eroded. Photo and video courtesy of RMG News, Austin Raishbrook
Before video (taken during the storm) and after photo (from today) of a small stream on the uphill side of Highway 18 which was the source of the water that caused the erosion damage.

We’ve been providing our readers coverage of the progress of the repairs in real time. This will be the next installment in that coverage.

On Wednesday, we traveled with special permission through the closure to document the current progress of the repairs.

The smallest of the washouts in 13 Curves has been repaired. The shoulder has had the dirt replaced and the hillside in these small washouts has been backfilled.

A couple smaller washouts with minimum damage have already been repaired on Highway 18.

The larger washout is a different story. There has been structural reinforcements installed with backfill in staggered sections. The washed out hillside below the roadway requires a lot of dirt to replace what was washed away. Large electric saws are being used to cut the sections of wire mesh that’s used to hold the new hillside together.

Once the hillside is reinforced and backfilled, the asphalt on the roadway will need to be repaired. In a phone interview with Caltrans District 8 Public Information Officer Shane Massoud, we asked what the current estimate looks like for a possible completion of repairs. “Our best estimates right now stand at two weeks from this past Monday. That could be extended if the good weather doesn’t continue to hold.”

Materials necessary for Highway repairs are placed at the ready in the worksite located on Highway 18.
Durable materials have been used to reinforce the hillside below Highway 18 while crews are repairing the recent washout.

It appears that the materials needed for the repairs are at the job site. The necessary manpower and heavy equipment can be seen hustling to get the work done. All that would be needed at this point is for the good weather to last. Unfortunately, next week’s weather forecast doesn’t look too dry. At press time, the forecast for Running Springs was showing rain this coming Saturday as well as next week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Of course, this can change for better or for worse and with the microclimates here on the mountain, trying to predict the weather can be a guessing game for the most part.

We continue to further up Highway 18 and roadways are plowed, it is very apparent that Caltrans has been working hard, even with the road closure, to keep the highway well maintained.

Road crews have continued to work through the road closure to remove deep snow and maintain optimum highway conditions.
Snow Valley maintenance crews have kept the parking lot ready to go for the potential opening of the resort once travel to the area has been deemed safe.

An interesting effect of the road closure on the area that one might note, the area above Snow Valley that is commonly used for open snow play, remains pristine without even a single footprint or broken sled anywhere in sight. The berms on both sides of the roadway are sharp and crisp.

An area of the San Bernardino national Forest near Snow Valley that normally is heavily trafficked by snow players remains untouched since Highway 18 closed on Valentine’s Day.

An additional smaller washout located in the Arctic Circle near Glory Ridge has been marked by barricades, caution tape and road cones. This area appears that it may require some work as well, we will update the status of this repair once we have further information from Caltrans.

Officials have marked an area of Highway 18 near the Arctic Circle that sustained a small amount of damage during a recent rainstorm.
Recent rain storms eroded a portion of the hillside below Highway 18 near Glory Ridge in the Arctic Circle.

Caltrans has also been apparently using the time during the closure to manage other roadway hazards. To ensure the future safe travel of motorists on Highway 18, crews have been removing a few precariously overhanging trees from above the highway.

One remaining tree stump from a tree that was cut down overhanging Highway 18 recently. It is evident that most of the dirt has been washed away from the root ball and that this tree had been destabilized.

Large trees littered the shoulder of Highway 18 in the Arctic Circle as road crews worked to mitigate hazards during the road closure.

Just before the last storm, crews scaled the hillsides and cut down some of those hazardous looking trees.

Today, those trees were cut up and loaded into trucks to be hauled away.

Road crews remove trees from Highway 18 that previously posed safety hazards.

Aside from the major financial impact on Snow Valley Ski Resort, Big Bear residents are greatly impacted by the road closure. All residents and visitors of the Big Bear Valley are currently required to use either Highway 18 through Lucerne or Highway 38 through Mentone while leaving or entering the Big Bear Valley. CalTrans is very aware of the impact on local businesses and the inconvenience to motorists. Road crews and contractors are working hard to repair the roadway and reopen Highway 18 above Green Valley Lake Road.

According to a public statement by officials, there is no current date set in stone for the reopening of Highway 18.

We will continue to follow the progress of the repairs. We will also remain in constant contact with CalTrans and update you here on the Mountain Reporter website.

6 Comments

  3. Thank you so much for your hard work Continued maintenance On the road… My place is in Green Valley Lake and i use that highway to get to Big Bear often i am so appreciative . Keep up the good work 🙂 Kathy Burroughs

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