More problems on Valencia Road in Aptos

Santa Cruz County public works crews were trying to reopen a lane of Valencia Road on Friday night, hours after downed redwood trees blocked the road and took out some asphalt. This is the second closure on the roadway that leads to the Rolling Green Estates.

Downed trees are becoming the norm in Santa Cruz County and the Rolling Green Estates in Aptos is no exception. However, it was too close for comfort for one driver.

“Somebody’s lucky because it did not go over the embankment,” Chris Tomkins said.

Tomkins spoke to a man who nearly drove off the newly crumbled road after some trees fell right in front of him. He made it out ok, but what Tomkins didn’t realize was how close that redwood came to his home.

“Walked out and this is what we saw, so it was a bit of a shock,” Tomkins said. “We actually got pretty lucky.”

Tomkins said he hasn’t seen this kind of rain in decades. Santa Cruz County said it’s approaching the same levels at 1982 in terms of overall damage.

“We had some pretty gigantic redwood trees come down,” said Steve Wiesner, assistant director of public works for Santa Cruz County. “Whole groves we lost down into Valencia creek.”

That part of Valencia Road has served as an alternate route for people trying to get to Valencia School, which was closed on Friday.

The Leonard family stopped by to see the damage left behind. As an educator and parent, Sarah Leonard has been concerned about the road for a while.

“Suddenly from one day to the next it went from about a six minute commute to about a 20-25 minute commute,” Leonard said. “It’s nerve-wracking, driving along this road. We feel like we’re on borrowed time, which clearly today it shows that it’s only a matter of time.”

Leonard’s normal route has been closed for several weeks. A culvert failure on Valencia Road at Trout Gulch has caused the roadway to sink 12 inches.

“We are actively engaged with trying to get temporary access back across the gulch and we’re also looking at permanent repairs there,” Wiesner said.

In the meantime, the county is asking people to be patient with public works crews, reminding them they didn’t cause the damage, they’re trying to fix it.