SALINAS, Calif.- We've told you all about Friday's weather related headaches, long commutes to work, roads closed, detours in place. But we found out you'll still want to drive carefully. Most drivers we spoke with said it was just a disaster out there. While roads are a lot drier now, there's still some spots drivers need to know about.
Road closures like the one at Alisal Road and Hartnell Road are still causing big headaches for drivers around Monterey County. The Monterey County Public Works Department has weather related traffic advisories at Castroville Boulevard and Elkhorn Road and Coast Road near Highway 1 and road closures on Hartnell Road between Alisal Road and 101.
One of the heaviest hit areas, was the San Lorenzo Valley. The rain created streams down the hillsides and a mudslide hit just north of Watsonville and made for a mess along Pioneer Road. But in Salinas, driver Jose Cordova said it wasn't much better.
"Awful, ugly. It's just over polluted with care and water puddles every where and people just driving crazy," Cordova said.
In Watsonville, a fear of flooding caused the county to break a dam on the Pajaro River. But the threat may not be over because it could take up to 30 hours for water to flow into the river. That's because other steams and smaller rivers are also backing up and flowing faster into the Pajaro River, which causes a domino effect. Carrol Turley with the Pajaro Dunes Association said they've been asking for the dam to be broken for months
"We've been asking them to do it for sometime and they haven't done it and now it's unsafe for them to get down the beach to do it," Turley said.
Roads in and out to the neighborhood flooded during Friday's storm. So the Santa Cruz County Public Works Department is asking everyone to stay away from the area.
"It is a department decision based on conditions that are taking place at the Pajaro River mouth. It's a matter of emergency,"said flood control manager, Bruce LaClergue.
Santa Cruz County Public Works said the Pajaro River is very sensitive area. Residents said the dam should have been broken open on Thursday. Crews are planning to monitor it until Monday.
