Highway 111 near Niland closed due to geyser
Caltrans in San Diego and Imperial Counties say the natural occurring geyser located just east of Highway 111, has increased in size in the last year.
The hot spring is now inching closer to the highway, forcing Caltrans to close it down for repairs.
It’s a closure locals are not too happy about.
” This road is extremely important, all our tourists that visit us, use this route and now they’re being re-routed and no one is stopping here. Business has been slow, ” said Vicky Hernandez, Buckshot restaurant Owner.
Hernandez estimates that she is losing almost one-thousand dollars each day the road remains closed.
Caltrans says they are working around the clock on this project in order to minimize the disruption.
“The Caltrans crews are building a temporary roadway that will maintain access for travelers around 111,” said Cathryne Bruce, Caltrans District 11.
Caltrans closed the highway near Davis Road on September 27th , in order to start a temporary road for travelers on Highway 111.
Although, construction near the geyser is estimated to continue for another month, Caltrans says the highway should be back open by Friday night.
As of late, the geyser has been an inconvenience for locals and travelers, but it’s a natural occurring hot spring that workers are trying to work around.
“We have noticed that it has been moving much faster in the last year and in the last few months,” said Bruce.
Caltrans says the geyser has existed in the area since 1953.
The geyser is expected to continue to gradually move west of the highway, which is what work crews are preparing for.
Meanwhile, Niland locals are anxiously waiting for the road closure to end.
” It’s been rough, and it’s affected all the businesses here. The county could have done a better job at posting signs for alternative routes. We haven’t received many of the snowbirds or bird hunters we were expecting to have during this time, ” said Hernandez.
The project is expected to continue into November. For updates on the Niland Geyser Mitigation Project you can visit the Caltrans website.
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