NORTH COAST, Calif. – Officials said Friday that new road closures are in effect after another slide affected a portion of Highway 101.

The California Highway Patrol reported that on the night of April 16, a large rock and mudslide occurred on Highway 101 approximately three miles north of the Standish Hickey State Recreation Area in Leggett.

The slide had spilled over temporary concrete railing and a catchment fence which was in place due to a previous rock slide in March, the agency said.

This latest slide is still active and has made travel across either side of Highway 101 impassible. The CHP said Highway 101 is closed north of the Standish Hickey State Recreation Area.

Since the slide closed Highway 101 earlier this week, travelers have taken Bell Springs Road to travel around the closure, the CHP said.

As a result of the heavy traffic and continued winter storms, road conditions on Bell Springs Road have deteriorated. The CHP said there have been several collisions and vehicles have become disabled with roadside services unable to reach them in a timely manner.

The CHP, Humboldt County Department of Transportation, Mendocino County Department of Transportation, Humboldt County Sheriff, Mendocino County Sheriff and Caltrans have determined that the safest action for the public would be to close Bell Springs Road to through traffic and restrict travel to local necessary and essential traffic.

Officers will be staffing the closures of Bell Springs Road and citizens should be prepared to provide proof/explanation of their need to be in the area to officers at the closures.

Proof can include but is not limited to: driver's license or registration card/ utility bill with address, work order for the area, etc.

Currently the alternate routes of travel for passenger vehicles and light trucks are Highway 36 and Highway 20. The current alternate routes of travel for larger commercial vehicles are Highway 20  and Highway 299, the CHP said.
 
Additionally, the CHP said the following roads are not alternate routes for the Highway 101 closure: Usal Road, Mina Road, Zenia Bluff Road, Hoagland Road and Briceland Thorn Road.

As for the situation at the Highway 101 slide, Caltrans reported late Friday that, weather permitting, it is looking “more possible” that the highway may be reopened in the middle of next week.

By 6 p.m. Friday, Caltrans’ contractor had removed more than 400 dump truck loads of slide material, despite the ongoing activity on the south side which caused numerous pauses in work. Caltrans said the night shift was working on the north end of the slide.

Check with Caltrans for additional updates or alternate routes at www.dot.ca.gov , https://www.facebook.com/CaltransD1/ or by calling 1-800-427-7623 (ROAD).