Crews remove hazardous trees in the Slater Fire scar near Collier Tunnel on U.S. 199 in this Oct. 6 photo from Caltrans.

Motorists could be subject to 30-minute delays on U.S. 199 near Collier Tunnel well into 2021 as crews continue to clean up after last month’s Slater Fire.

Caltrans has entered into a $7.5 million contract with Brookings-based Tidewater Contractors through the end of March to remove hazardous trees and replace signs, culverts and guardrails damaged by the wildfire, spokesman Myles Cochrane told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Wednesday.

The agency hopes the weather will cooperate and enable the work to be done faster, however, Cochrane said.

“Thousands of trees were impacted by that wildfire,” he said.

The Slater Fire, which started near Happy Camp on Sept. 8, spread to nearby Del Norte and Josephine counties, prompting evacuation orders in those communities, including Gasquet. It is currently 85 percent contained and is expected to be fully contained by Sunday, according to InciWeb. A total of 221 personnel battled the blaze.

Meanwhile, motorists traveling through Smith River will be subject to delays through next spring because of another Caltrans project, which seeks to improve fish passage along Dominie Creek.

The agency activated a temporary traffic signal between Rowdy Creek Road and North Fred Haight Drive to restrict vehicles to one-lane. The intersection of North Fred Haight Drive at U.S. 101 has also been closed, according to Cochrane.

“We’re building a bridge right now on top of the culvert there,” Cochrane said. “We’re building the bridge one side at a time so we can keep traffic moving in the area. And then once that bridge is built, hopefully by the spring, next summer, they’re going to remove the culvert under it because it needed to be replaced.”

Map of the bridge and culvert replacement project in Smith River. Courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Not only will the project make it easier for the “little critters” to move upstream, Cochrane said, it will also improve drainage during inclement weather.

“The bridge should be built by the spring, maybe at the end of spring,” he said. “And then it looks like they’re hoping to start replacing the culvert once the bridge is built.”

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