Gaviota Tunnel Rock Nets Get Repaired

Aerial view of Gaviota Tunnel and Pass, looking to the south.

Repairs to the rock nets north and south of the Gaviota Tunnel will close lanes of Highway 101 Monday–Thursday starting November 7 and until about November 17. The Gaviota rest area will also be closed on Monday and possibly on Tuesday as well.

The steel-cabled nets catch rocks tumbling off the Santa Ynez Mountains as the 101 inclines sharply at the Gaviota Pass. Motorists heading north will find lane 2 (the right, or slow, lane) closed Monday–Thursday from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. for about a half-a-mile to both sides of the tunnel. On the southbound side, the number 2 lane will close Wednesday–Thursday, 8 a.m. –4 p.m. as Caltrans workers add and replace the cables and a couple posts. The left-hand lanes will remain open, and no work takes place on Fridays.

The work is being performed by contractor Access Limited Constructed of Oceano at a cost of $80,000.