CalTrans To Open 330 To Commuter Traffic In Near Future: Dates Not Yet Released

Big Bear, Ca, March 15, 2011, 2:15pm - The heavy rains that Southern California, particularly the San Bernardino Mountains, received in December of last year caused major damage to Highway 330.  Highway 330 was closed during the storms and has since to reopen due to major slip outs along the route.  The most significant damage occurred in three separate locations which Caltrans and contractors Skanska and Sema Construction have been working on.  CalTrans has announced that in the near future Highway 330 will open to one way commuter traffic Monday through Friday.  The road will open from 6:00am to 8:00am to downbound only traffic, and from 4:00pm to 6:00pm for upbound only traffic.  CalTrans has not yet announced when this will go into effect.  CalTrans hopes to have the road completely open by October 1^st, 2011. 

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Road Repairs Continue On SR 330

San Bernardino Mountains, Ca, February 24, 2011, 3:00pm - State Route 330 north of Highland Avenue was severely damaged by a storm in late December that resulted in its closure. The route is one of the main arteries to the San Bernardino Mountain communities. Emergency repairs to restore the route to the traveling public will continue.  On February 15 substantial progress was reported on the first two phases awarded to Skanska. They started work to backfill the new culvert installed under the downbound lanes, which is located where the large cavern was carved under the roadway. This is the section where Caltrans had to start work to create access to the larger middle slide. Skanska was basically moving dirt from the upbound lanes over to the hole they dug in the downbound lanes. They also created two roads down to the bottom of the major slide in the second phase of the work. Caltrans awarded the third and final phase of work to SEMA Construction. Their contract also includes remedial work on a number of other culverts to reduce the risk of having a repeat event next year. On February 22 Skanska continued making great progress at the middle slide on SR-330. The contractor had some delays due to the weather pattern, but continued with work whenever they could safely do so during the storms.

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Highway 330 Update: Contractor Skanska Begins Work

San Bernardino Mountains, Ca, February 2, 2011, 12:00pm - Cal Trans announced on January 25^th, that contractor Skanska has been awarded with the contract for Phase 2 of the Highway 330 Emergency Project.  The contract is for $10 million, and the contractor began work Wednesday January 26^th.  Skanska will work to excavate and rebuild the cavern carved under the roadbed and repair culverts at other locations in the lower section of the damaged highway. They will also work on implementing new drainage, installing debris racks, constructing buttresses and reconstructing slope and road, placing metal beam guardrails, and repairing damaged culverts.  The contractor estimates that their efforts will create access to the larger slide within a few weeks.  Once that access is created, CalTrans will have a second contractor begin work on the large slide in the project.  This Phase of the project is estimated at $10-12 million depending on mitigation requirements for the yellow legged frog, which could cost up to $1.5 Million as the large slide occurred in the frogs habitat, and it is a federally listed endangered species.  More information about Hwy 330 will be made available as we receive it.

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President Obama Signs Declaration Of State Of Emergency For California Areas

Big Bear, Ca, January 27, 2011, 12:00pm - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced on January 26^th, that federal disaster aid has been made available to California, including the County of San Bernardino, to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the December 2010 and January 2011 Winter Storms.  Under FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Program, funding is provided to the state, eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis. The declaration of a federal emergency means that FEMA will cover 75 percent of the eligible costs needed to repair Highway 330, and CalEMA will cover 18.75 percent of the eligible costs; which leaves the local government agency responsible for the remaining 6.25 percent. “This declaration is due to the cooperation between agencies, and the funding associated with it is critical to get our roads and infrastructure back into shape,” said San Bernardino County 3rd District Supervisor Neil Derry.   The countywide storm damage total now exceeds $97.3 million.

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Highway 330 Update: Could Cost Up to 20 Million to Fix

Big Bear, Ca, January 19, 2011, 8:00am - On January 14^th, officials from the city, county and state met to discuss Highway 330. Cal Trans has already awarded a contract for 6 million dollars, which will go towards emergency repairs, and has stated that they will award a contract of 20 million dollars, which will repair road washouts and old culverts.  Currently, many of the existing culvert pipes are over 60 years old, are now beyond their service life and need to be repaired.  There is a major slide on Highway 330, as well as five other significant slides that also make the road impassable.  Several slides must be repaired on both approach ends, before crews can begin work on the major slide.  Director for CalTrans District 8, Dr. Raymond Wolfe stated that the repairs would take one year to fix all the culverts, unstable roadway and slide areas, which will cost at least 20 million dollars.

CHP Announces New Program “Arrive Alive On State Routes 18, 38, 138, and 330”

Running Springs, CA, July 28, 2010, 3:44pm – The California Highway Patrol is serving up a warning about a year-long enhanced enforcement effort to reduce the number of fatal and injury collisions related to driving under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs on State Routes 18, 38, 138, and 330.  The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office are collaborating with the CHP to provide enhanced anti-DUI law enforcement roving patrols within their jurisdictions of our local mountain area highways.  The baseline comparison year is 2008 and showed 70 injuries and four fatalities resulting from DUI-involved fatal and injury reportable collisions on State Routes 18, 38, 138, and 330.  From 2005 to 2007, there were 12 victims killed and 143 victims injured in DUI-involved reportable collisions on the same routes.  The grant kicks off August 1, 2010, and ends July 31, 2011.  The officers and deputies will enforce all traffic laws with a special emphasis on the apprehension of drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.  This includes people speeding and making unsafe passes or turns.  Officers will also strictly enforce the use of seat belts and child passenger restraints.  Funding for the “Arrive Alive on State Routes 18, 38, 138, and 330” DUI Corridor Grant project is provided by a grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

CalTrans Implements Maintenance Projects at Base of Mountain, and in Boulder Bay and Fawnskin Areas

Big Bear Valley, CA — In addition to the ongoing construction of the Big Bear bridge, scheduled for completion next year, there are a few CalTrans maintenance projects slated for this week. Work resumes in the Highland area this week, which will affect those traveling on the 210 freeway and Highway 330 at the base of the mountain. From 8am to 4pm through Friday, July 9, the connectors from the 330 to the 210, both eastbound and westbound, will be closed, though detours will be available, with signage posted. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the connector from Highway 330 to the southbound portion of Highway 18 at Running Springs will be closed for excavation work; this closure will be from 8am to 5pm and, again, for just two days. Closer to home, there will be three different pavement maintenance projects, each of them scheduled to take one day, from 8am to 3pm. On Wednesday, July 7, motorists can expect flagging from Talbot in the Boulder Bay area west to the Big Bear dam. Pavement projects on Thursday and Friday are in the Fawnskin area, so expect flagging on the North Shore at Bruin Trail on July 8 and on the North Shore at Cherokee Street on July 9. There may also be minimal delays for those taking Highway 18 east toward the Lucerne Valley; from 8am to 5pm this week, guardrail installation is taking place between Baldwin Lake Road and Cactus Road. For updated road information, please see the KBHR Big Bear Road Conditions page.

Overnight, Midweek Road Closures on Arctic Circle Portion of Highway 18; CalTrans Does Clean-up, Post-Winter Repairs

As of last night (June 20), CalTrans has implemented a maintenance project on the Arctic Circle portion of Highway 18, from the Big Bear dam west to Lakeview Point. This road work has resulted in overnight closures on Highway 18; closures will be on Sundays through Thursdays, from 10pm to 4am, extending through July 1st. Highway 18 will remain open round the clock on Fridays and Saturdays, though there is the possibility of weekend lane closures during the roughly two-week project. Some of the maintenance work being done includes the repair of guardrails damaged during the winter season, the widening of shoulders, and the cleanup of turnouts along the Arctic Circle.
A couple other CalTrans projects are taking place at the base of the mountain, so just FYI: the northbound Highland Avenue off-ramp at the base of Highway 330 will be closed from 8am to 4pm this week. Also, for those commuting on Highway 38, know that there may be some delays in the Mentone area, as only one lane will be open, from 8am to 4:30pm, to accommodate a sidewalk project expected to take four weeks to complete (as of Wednesday, June 23).
For road updates, closures and construction projects, you can visit the KBHR Big Bear Road Conditions page.
Update: As of Thursday, CalTrans is implementing another road project at the base of the mountain, and this will impact travelers coming down the mountain on Highway 330. On Thursday night, June 24 and Friday night, June 25, there will be overnight closures on the Highway 330 connectors to the 210 Freeway. Detours will be in place to access the 210 during work hours, which will be from 8pm to 5am.
Update: As of July 2, all of these mountain-area projects (save for the ongoing Big Bear bridge replacement project) are complete. CalTrans crews may revisit the Arctic Circle for additional maintenance on a yet-to-be scheduled date later this summer.

Highway 330 Now Open 24/7, Though Morning Commuters May Experience Delays Up to 30 Minutes

By now, you’ve heard the good news that, nearly two months later, Highway 330 has been re-opened to traffic. Officials with CalTrans tell KBHR today (May 13) that delays can be expected, Monday through Thursday, from 7am to 6pm—and these delays during the morning commute could be as much as 20 to 30 minutes maximum, though there are also windows when traffic will continue to flow and there will be no flagging, even during work hours. Outside of the Monday-through-Thursday work hours on Highway 330, there are no delays planned for motorists, who can travel the highway 24 hours a day. The overall completion of the project is scheduled for mid-June, as initially announced in March, as the contractor still has permanent striping, guardrail work, slope resurfacing and landscaping to complete. For background (and additional photos) on this emergency-issued, $6 million project, click on the “Highway 330″ tab at the bottom of this story.

Caltrans Re-opens Highway 330

Big Bear Valley, CA – As of last night, Caltrans re-opened State Route 330 to through traffic after closing the roadway on March 16th for culvert damage sustained during heavy rains this year.  Complicating the repair work was the need to store 100,000 cubic yards of dirt during the excavation on the actual roadway, which required the closure of all lanes.  The repair project is estimated to be at a cost of six million dollars.   Crews will continue construction with the use of flagging and a pilot car while they complete the roadwork for approximately three to four more weeks.  One lane will be open at all times while construction continues Monday through Thursday from 7am to 6pm so plan for some delays during those hours.

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