Highway 198 in Monterey County to fully reopen on June 2nd
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE ON MAY 25, 2023 AT 3:24 PM- Caltrans announced that Highway 198 in Monterey County will reopen fully on Friday June 2 at 8 a.m.
Crews finished repairs to a washout of the roadway caused by the recent winter storms. Crews were working on Highway 198 which was 20.2 miles east of U.S. Highway 101, excavated a section of the roadway and filled it up to grade.
Caltrans will complete paving of the roadway by the reopening date on Friday June 2. Crews also fixed a damaged section of Highway 198 in Fresno County this week.
However, a section Highway 198 which is 20.8 miles east of US 101, is currently under monitoring and will likely need to be repaired.
Geotech teams from Caltrans have deployed sensors to track the location and depth of slide activity to acquire information which would guide the design of a future repair.
Caltrans will not know the results of the monitoring might not be known for several weeks or month.
UPDATE ON MARCH 9, 2023 AT 3:46 P.M: Caltrans District 6 has pushed back the reopening date of Highway 198 for another month due to the ongoing winter storms.
Elizabeth Yelton who is the spokesperson for Caltrans District 6 said that the portion between the Fresno-Monterey County line to Coalinga is now scheduled to open on April 15.
She said the roadway is now expected to fully reopen by mid-May. Yelton said that timeline could change depending on the weather conditions and if the road suffers any additional damage.
ORIGNAL STORY
Caltrans expects that a sixteen-mile stretch of Highway 198 has been shut down due to winter storms in January and will reopen completely by early April.
Highway 198 between Fresno County and Monterey County has been shut down due to continued work in various locations, per Caltrans.
Caltrans officials said crews are working on multiple parts of the highway and expect to reopen the portion between the Fresno-Monterey County line to Coalinga on March 15th.
Sections of the road were damaged in Fresno and Monterey Counties which included a large portion of the roadway that washed out in Fresno County.
A complete reopening is estimated for early April but officials said that closures may last for longer depending on weather conditions.
