West Point, CA…In this News Flash, Caltrans takes us on location as emergency maintenance contractors perform a controlled explosion to remove potentially hazardous rocks and debris while repairing State Route 26 (SR-26) near the Amador/Calaveras County line. On February 10, 2017, a roadside slip-out occurred on SR-26, followed by a rockslide on February 11, 2017, less than three miles apart. SR-26 was immediately closed in both directions as crews began to assess the damage and begin repair efforts. While addressing these two slides, workers discovered a small sinkhole located between the two slide sites, leading to the replacement of a culvert pipe approximately 40 feet below the surface.

Heavy equipment operators at the rockslide site experienced a small amount of falling debris from overhead and determined that a controlled explosion was necessary to remove this debris.

Contractors used approximately 20 pounds of explosive materials during the controlled blast to remove these safety hazards so work could resume to restore the roadway.

This video can be viewed at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/paffairs/newsflash/

This News Flash is the 129th in a series of videos highlighting Caltrans’ activities that present the wide-ranging and critical work that Caltrans does to enhance California’s economy and livability. o see more of these and other videos, search for #CaltransNewsFlash on Twitter or go to http://bit.ly/1ez3LYz.