Long-term road closures leave people dealing with detours 
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif., (KION-TV)- Roads on the Central Coast are still hazardous despite the deluge ending. The area is still seeing impacts that the storm caused on the roadways.
People here are learning to roll with the punches. Some told KION the road closures haven’t been too bad. But they have had to give themselves, especially if they have to head to places like Scotts Valley or Santa Cruz.
Kristen Mulvaney uses highway 9 at least once or twice a day to travel to and from Santa Cruz. Due to the road closure on Highway 9, she’s using detours to get around.
“I used to live off Glen Arbor years ago,” said Mulvaney. “So I know the road pretty well, it's slower than [Highway] 9 for sure.”
She's familiar driving through Glen Arbor Road. Yet does need to give herself an extra 10 or 15 minutes when heading out.
The mudslide on Highway 9 took down many trees and some powerline equipment. It even took part of the road’s barrier. Caltrans is hoping to make some progress on cleaning, the agency will be taking advantage of the rainless days ahead
“The forecast for that project is that we will be moving debris for the next week or two weeks at least,” said Kevin Drabinski with Caltrans District 5.
Once debris is removed, Caltrans will still need to check out the integrity of the road. But it's just not mud or fallen trees that drivers are worried about.
“I'm more concerned about the potholes,” said Tyler Zangrando, who lives in Boulder Creek. “People getting flats and stuff like that, even my driveway just got dug out from the rain.”
KION also checked in with Santa Cruz County, which is estimating about $40 million dollars in damages on county public roads. The county hopes to have a final number at the end of week.
There are 20 long term road closures as a result of the storm in Santa Cruz County.
