Highway 9 closed until Friday for winter storm preparations

FELTON, Calif. (KION) - Heads up drivers, Highway 9 will be closed for the remainder of the week as Caltrans clears out damage from the last winter storm in preparation for the next​ one.

Four miles of the highway, north and southbound are closed from Glengarry Road all the way to Paradise Park.

It's all hands on deck as Caltrans tries to clean up the 4 mile stretch of Highway 9 ahead of the future winter storms.

"What we're doing there, like we do in other locations in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is get in there and clean ditches bring out fallen trees and debris off the roadway. And our effort there is trying to clear a path for water to come down off the mountains when the winter storms hit," said Kevin Drabinski.

Drabinski with Caltrans says this needs to be done so a potentially longer road closure in the future is less of a possibility.

"This drainage system and culvert system directs water under the roadway keeps the roadway open longer during storms," said Drabinski.

They started the first day of winter prep work by cleaning ditches, taking out fallen trees and debris out of the roadway.

Highway 9 is typically the main route for people living in the mountains to take aside from Highway 17.

Peter Jarzyna who lives in Santa Cruz usually takes other routes to get into town but the worry is this closure will cause more congestion to other routes.

"When things change, cars pile up pretty fast," said Jarzyna.

These daily closures will last from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Caltrans say it is recommending drivers take Graham Hill Road as a detour and should expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

Caltrans say there is a possibility of opening the highway sooner than planned. It all depends how quickly they can get it done and​ if the weather works in their favor.