Monterey County must wait for funding to repair storm damaged roads

First, it was a big fire, then came the storms. People in Big Sur can’t seem to get a break with many roads still closed.

Community members came together Tuesday night to get their questions answered.

“Park and walk across the creek, get another vehicle and make my way home or just walk home.” This is how Travis Trapkus has been getting home since the recent storms almost a week ago.

They caused Rocky Creek in Big Sur to overflow, destroying roads and leaving people stranded.

But Trapkus still said has it easy.

“People that live further up the road that have families and, you know, have to go through five miles of, you know, muddy, dirty road that are also compromised,” Trapkus said.

The county is rushing to repair those roads but officials say their resources are spread thin.

“It’s not confined in one geographic area. The storm has been pretty tough on us,” said Benny Young with

Monterey County Resource Management Agency.

The county is looking at a repair bill of $18.5 million and climbing.

“It’s still early in the season so I’m greatly concerned that we may continue to experience road closures and road failures,” Young said. “It’s a pretty serious situation for us.”

Many of the roads will take months to reopen, but Big Sur residents are trying to stay resilient and hopeful

“You look at inconvenience, but it’s not a challenge,” said Big Sur resident Cheryle Goetz. “We have been really, really fortunate.”

Even though the governor has declared a state of emergency for the Big Sur area, the county doesn’t have money secured for the repairs. Officials said they’re putting political pressure to get state and federal funding.