County Reopens Bear Creek Road to Traffic

The County has completed repairs to a section of Bear Creek Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains that was badly damaged during this winter’s storms and reopened it to traffic.

The segment of Bear Creek Road near Los Gatos had been closed since March, when a culvert channeling stormwater under the roadway failed, creating a cavernous hole on the upstream side of the road near the parking lot of the Bear Creek Redwood Open Space Preserve.

A contractor has completely rebuilt the damaged section of road and installed a new culvert.

The County is working as quickly as possible to repair 28 other road segments that were damaged in the storms, particularly three segments that remain closed to traffic: Old Santa Cruz Highway overlooking Lexington Reservoir; Aldercroft Heights Road, also along the reservoir; and Clayton Road near Mount Hamilton

Roads that are owned and maintained by the County suffered significant damage during the 2022-23 rainy season, which was one of the wettest in recent Bay Area history.

The County estimates that repairing the damage to all 29 sites will cost $15.4 million, though that figure may rise. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued a Major Disaster Declaration that makes Santa Clara County and other Bay Area jurisdictions eligible for funding to assist with the recovery.

For more information on repairs to roads in your area, visit the County’s storm-damage repair webpage.