Contra Costa County officials will host a public meeting on Thursday night to update residents about the state of assessments and repairs to a massive mudslide that closed Morgan Territory Road in both directions last week.
Members of the community will get a briefing from officials and can ask questions of staffers from the Public Works Department, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, the sheriff's office, Cal Fire, the Contra Costa Water District, PG&E, the Mount Diablo Unified School District and the office of county Supervisor Diane Burgis.
The mudslide was first thought to have engulfed about 120 feet of roadway but the most current estimates put it at closer to 300 to 400 feet, said Public Works' Chief Deputy Director Brian Balbas.
"The soils out there are very, very saturated from all the rain we've been getting," Balbas said.
Since Friday, Morgan Territory Road has been closed in both directions between Oak Hill Lane and Williams Road and people who need to drive north into Clayton or east to Brentwood via Marsh Creek Road have had to detour south all the way to Livermore in order to find alternative routes.
People living in the rural area have also had to deal with intermittent power outages, lack of water service and disruptions to police and fire service. As of Thursday, PG&E had restored power to the area but about 80 people were still without water, Balbas said.
Water district crews had to repair the main water pipe that runs underground in the slide area three different times because the slide is still moving slowly downhill, making any permanent fix to either the pipe or the roadway untenable, Balbas said.
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Right now, the crews are trying to secure a pipe made of flexible material to the water main on the north side of the slide. They then plan to run the flexible pipe above ground, over the slide, and affix it to the main on the south side.
Water district officials still don't know how long it will take to make those repairs and fully restore water service to the area, Balbas said.
The county's engineers are working to gauge the exact size, depth and movement of the slide in order to make an assessment about how to repair the road. The time it will take to complete the roadway repairs has not yet to be determined, Balbas said.
Emergency services to the area are also being modified to work around the slide area.
Fire and police vehicles have been parked on the south side of the slide and if there is a call, crews can drive to the north side and walk over the slide to where the vehicles are waiting.
Also, several helicopter landing zones have been identified in case emergency medical evacuations are necessary.
The public meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at 4255 Morgan Territory Road, roughly two miles south of the road closure.
The meeting will be outdoors and attendees who need seats are asked to bring their own. Also, parking is limited so people are also encouraged to walk or carpool.
