Crowd Cheers Reopening of Flood-Ravaged Highway

Six months after raging flood waters conquered and destroyed the highway through this tiny community along the eastern Sierra, residents Saturday claimed the road back.

About 400 people cheered and fire sirens blared at 11:13 a.m., when two Marine Corps Humvees broke through a banner proclaiming, “U.S. 395 Back Alive.”

With that, traffic and tourists began flowing again.

“I’m glad to see it finally opening,” said Scott Bush, owner of the Walker General Store and service station. “It’ll be interesting to see if the rest of the world still knows we’re here.”

Mono County Supervisor Ed Inwood praised the massive effort it took to rechannel the river and rebuild the highway that is a major north-south route between Southern California and northern Nevada. “This is about cooperation and partnership,” he said.

*

Floods washed away 10 miles of U.S. 395 through the steep and scenic Walker River Canyon in January, when heavy rain atop a massive snowpack in the Sierra sent torrents of water gushing down the river.

The floods damaged or destroyed 21 homes in Walker, as well as 53 mobile homes. Total damage was estimated at $26.5 million, not including the $30-million price tag to rebuild the road. There were no deaths or serious injuries.

An access road had to be built before reconstruction of the highway could begin.

“It was tough work,” said Harry Hoffman, a Southern California employee of Caltrans and one of more than 200 who worked on the project.

*

“The worst thing was the cold,” said co-worker Sam Lujan of Bakersfield. Both wore T-shirts proclaiming themselves members of the U.S. 395 “Road Warriors” crew.

Caltrans Director James W. van Loben Sels praised the engineers, E.L. Yaeger Construction, the primary contractor on the project, other construction workers and the community for joining to accomplish what at first seemed a virtually impossible task.

Under normal circumstances, such a project would have taken about two years to complete, he said.

Randy Iwasaki, Caltrans District 9 director, was hailed by many for coordinating the effort that focused not only on rebuilding the road, but restoring the river. “The river was also devastated,” said Jim Nelson, head of the Toiyabe-Humboldt National Forest.

But Nelson said that the restoration efforts will ensure “a quality fishery that in a few years, after it heals properly, is going to be in better condition than it was before the flood.”

Bruce Kinney of the California Department of Fish and Game said 1,200 pounds of fish were planted in the river last week.

For residents, the reopening of the highway means the end of a 60-mile detour to get to Bridgeport 30 miles south.