Jessica Cejnar / Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 @ 7:40 p.m. / Roads, Traffic

Caltrans Reopens U.S. 101 To One-Way Controlled Traffic


Caltrans reopened U.S. 101 at about 6 p.m. Monday, after a landslide near Last Chance Grade halted traffic for about two days.

Motorists should expect 30 minute delays and be prepared for things to change pending additional slide activity, according to a Facebook post from the agency.

The slide shuttered U.S. 101 between mile post markers 13.3 and 23.85 south of Crescent City at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Caltrans personnel spent Sunday clearing debris and reopened the highway at about 6 p.m. only to have to close it down again due to a rock fall, according to agency spokeswoman Cori Reed.

The slide bisected Del Norte County, with emergency medical services, sheriff's deputies and other first responders unable to reach Klamath. According to Sheriff Erik Apperson, his agency called on Yurok Tribal Police Chief Greg O'Rourke and Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal for assistance.

Meanwhile, the slide prompted a few motorists to try to find a way around the closure by taking South Fork Road to the Gasquet-Orleans Road, keeping Del Norte County Search and Rescue personnel busy on Sunday.

Search and Rescue even abandoned their vehicles and hiked about a half mile to rescue a motorist stranded overnight near Red Mountain on Sunday, according to the sheriff's office.


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