Edhat StaffSource: City of Goleta
The City will reopen Cathedral Oaks Road between Winchester Canyon Road and Calle Real on Tuesday, June 6. The bike and shoulder will remain closed until the final repairs are made.
The road was originally closed on January 30, 2017, over concerns about the integrity of the crib walls — the retaining walls which hold up the road. The January rains caused voids or pockets to appear along the north side of the crib wall and caused a section of the wall to bulge outward slightly.
The City brought in specialty engineers to assess the soil movement and wall condition. The City also hired a geotechnical consultant to perform electrical resistivity testing. They used ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity testing to locate underground sinkholes and then excavation was performed to determine whether the sinkholes had spread beneath the roadway. At this time, these tests showed there is no undermining of the road.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The City will soon issue a Request for Proposals to design the ultimate repair or replacement of the retaining wall system. This process could take two years. The roadway will be closed during construction.
The City is seeking state and federal aid for emergency repairs since the condition was caused by the January storms.
