San Rafael, CA – Repairs are expected to start in September on an eight-mile section of Fairfax-Bolinas Road in West Marin that has been closed since a March 11 mudslide.
Sections of Fairfax-Bolinas Road have been closed since March 2016 because of erosion on the shoulder.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors awarded a $305,692 construction contract to Engineered Soil Repairs of Walnut Creek on August 16, and the project could be finished by November – even earlier if things go well, according to County engineers.
The rural and hilly two-lane road, a key transportation artery for some West Marin residents, was partly closed after the March storm for more than five months because the County of Marin’s Department of Public Works (DPW) deemed it unsafe and it took a while to design the appropriate repairs and satisfy contracting and funding requirements. Fairfax-Bolinas Road was closed for about a week between its Shoreline Highway junction at the north end of Bolinas Lagoon and Ridgecrest Road on Mount Tamalpais. But the section between Ridgecrest and the Meadow Club in Fairfax has remained closed to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
The root of the closure was between Azalea Hill and Ridgecrest, a stretch of nearly seven miles with three slides located in close proximity to the Cataract Falls trailhead. Geotechnical experts and engineers have assessed what caused the slides and what preventative measures were needed to prevent future slides in the area. New sections of the road, shoulders and barriers were designed and locations for reinforcement pilings and concrete walls were identified.
Fairfax-Bolinas Road has always been popular with recreational cyclists, and some have chosen to bypass barriers, ignore posted signage and ride on the closed section. “We understand that cyclists want to enjoy a car-free experience on beautiful roads,” said DPW Principal Civil Engineer Ernest Klock, “but it is about to turn into a construction zone and we hope everybody will respect the closure while the workers are doing their jobs.”
County DPW has jurisdictional responsibilities on road maintenance in unincorporated Marin except for state and federal highways.