If and when Santa Barbara County finally secures federal funds to fix damage caused by winter storms, the county’s flagship project will be repairing the access road to the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park.
The temporary fix is budgeted for about $6.2 million of the $8.6 million the county has requested under a preliminary damage assessment report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re not going to permanently move the road; that would take too long to get anything cleared,” said Dave Rickard, Santa Barbara County’s Disaster Recovery Manager. “We want to put the road back as soon as we can and as safely as we can, and that’s going to take a little time.
“It’s an environmental nightmare out there,” he added. “We’ve got to do everything by the book.”
Winter storms, flooding, and subsequent erosion forced the closure of the dunes access road, also known as West Main Street, in late December. It reopened briefly before closing again following another round of intense storms that hit the area on March 20.
In the long term, the county would like to move the road farther inland so the river can’t get to it again. At present, Guadalupe Beach is still accessible via a temporary footpath around the washed out section, however, the next closest access road to the Dunes is at Oso Flaco Lake—several miles to the north up U.S. Highway 1.
“If we’re able to get any funding, it would help restore permanent access out there,” Interim County Parks Director Brian Roney said. “Right now, with pedestrian access, it’s probably limiting some people from getting out to the beach. It’s a long walk.”
California was put on the backburner when monster tornadoes and floods hit the Midwest and South in recent weeks, Rickard said. The county is still awaiting President Barack Obama’s signing of April’s 17-county federal disaster declaration before funding can be released, which Rickard hopes will come as soon as the end of May.
“FEMA’s been horribly busy. They’ve got to deal with the people’s lives that are really jacked up before they get to us,” he said. “It was a weekend nightmare for us, but I think FEMA’s going to help us out.”
Once the federal grant is issued, repairing the road would take at least nine months to a year to complete, Rickard said. County Flood Control staff would also look at further mitigation methods to ensure it doesn’t wash out again.
The county is also looking to fund about 35 other repair projects through FEMA’s disaster relief program, including $600,000 for various flood control projects in Solvang and Santa Maria, and $435,000 for repairs at Cachuma Lake.
One reason why the road project tops the list, Rickard said, is because the Dunes are so critical to Guadalupe and the entire area.
“It’s the only beach road that any of us have in the North County. It’s kind of a cool spot. It’s worth saving,” Rickard said. ”We all have a little investment out there, whether we work for the county or just enjoy going out there. It will be one of those projects that will be fun to see get completed.”
This article appears in May 19-26, 2011.