State Route 156 near Castroville closed Thursday for emergency tree removal

UPDATE 02/22/17 10:36 p.m.: Highway 156 will be closed between the Highway 183 interchange and Prunedale North Road near highway 101 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. Crews need to remove three trees that could otherwise fall.

The highway is a major route for people living near Oak Hills, and for some, it means a much longer commute.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Oak Hills resident Darryl Haley. “It’s going to be tough for anybody just commuting to work, from work, to get home.”

Haley and his family just moved to the area, off Highway 156. He said he loved the quiet neighborhood but not the commute.

“There’s not a lot of ways in and out, … unless you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, and are ready to go thru the fields, which I don’t know if the farmers are going to be happy about that,” Haley said.

When he learned of the closure, he was surprised.

“It would have been nice to get a notification, just to let people know in the area, hey, this is going on,” Haley said.

Caltrans said the work is closer to Prunedale and Oak Hills residents will be allowed to head towards Castroville and get home by showing their ID’s.

But, Haley said the commute is already difficult and this will just make it worse.

“I think with the added closure with the fact that nobody can get thru and that nobody knows about it, it’s going just… it’s going to make it crazy,” Haley said.

Some neighbors are sharing the information on social media, hoping everyone could see it.

Even though Caltrans said the delay won’t be more than 15 minutes, Haley said he won’t be taking any chances.

“I’m going to leave a little bit early in the morning, and probably stay at work a little later, just to hopefully miss it,” Haley said.

Caltrans said it contacted the seven nearby schools so that parents can plan accordingly.

School buses will run in the morning but not the afternoon.

The following roads will be open for local to use:
Highway 183
Blackie Road
Castroville Boulevard
San Miguel Canyon Road

PREVIOUS STORY: State Route 156 near Castroville will be closed Thursday for emergency tree removal.

Caltrans officials said the closure will begin on route 156 near route 183 where the interchange is and will extend to Prunedale North Road near Highway 101 in Prunedale. The road will be closed on both directions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.

A crane will be used to remove three trees that have a high potential of falling onto the highway, according to Caltrans officials. They said the roadwork is necessary for the safety of drivers.

Caltrans said electronic messages will be posted to alert drivers of current roadwork conditions.

Drivers can expect a 15 minute delay with a detour in place. California Highway Patrol will be present during the tree removal for safety.

Caltrans reminded drivers to drive slowly through highway work zones.

For traffic updates on Caltrans projects in Monterey County, drivers can visit its website at www.dot.ca.gov.