Storms caused $26.5 million of damage to SLO County roads. How will it pay for repairs?

A series of destructive winter storms left San Luis Obispo County with at least $26.5 million in road damages — and that cost will only increase as the county continues repairs.

Federal funding will only cover a portion of emergency road repairs, so the county will have to dish out some of its own money too, San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department transportation division manager Josh Roberts said.

At its meeting Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the use of $6 million from the county’s general fund reserves to repair road damage caused by the storms.

The county will also use a $3.6 million loan and $2 million in 2021 American Rescue Plan Act funds for road repairs this fiscal year, the staff report said.

“I like the combination of reserves and loans,” Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said at Tuesday’s meeting, saying it “represents a fiscally responsible approach.”

Overall, the county expects road repair costs to eventually total $36 million.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Highway Administration will likely reimburse about 66% of that, leaving the county to pay about $12 million out of pocket, according to the payment plan.

The money will be used to fix various types of road damage, including “destroyed bridges, complete washouts of roads, broken culverts, undercutting of roads and embankment failures,” the staff report said.

SLO County sees major damage due to storms

On Jan. 9, an atmospheric river storm slammed into SLO County — flooding numerous roads and causing widespread property damage.

The area endured another severe storm system on March 9 and 10, Roberts said at Tuesday’s meeting, resulting in even more destruction.

“We saw a record-breaking rain that caused damage I never expected to see or respond to in my career,” San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director John Diodati said at the meeting.

According to Roberts, the price tag for road repairs is expected to rise as the county continues to uncover storm damage during the construction phrase.

In the case of one road, the county found additional damage “last week we didn’t know about because the road had been totally under water until recently,” Roberts wrote in an email to The Tribune.

So far, the county has paid $1,925,000 for debris removal on 287 roads, and $7,582,000 for emergency protective measures at 76 sites according to Roberts. FEMA is expected to reimburse 75% to 100% of those costs, Roberts said.

How much will it cost to fix county roads?

Even larger bills are on the horizon for the county.

Permanent road and bridge repairs will cost at least $13,378,000 with the potential for 75% to 93% reimbursement from FEMA, Roberts said.

Some roads needed both temporary and permanent repairs — such Chimney Rock Road. Floodwaters completely wiped out a stretch of the road south of Lake Nacimiento in March, leaving nearly 100 residents stranded.

The county also must pay for emergency road openings, which will cost roughly $3,617,000 with 88% to 100% reimbursement from the Federal Highway Administration, Roberts said.

Supervisors approve storm damage recovery team

The board voted unanimously to allow the Public Works Department to hire a temporary team to manage storm damage recovery projects.

That team would include a three-year project manager, a three-year civil engineering technician aide and a three-year environmental specialist, according to the staff report.

The Public Works Department will also move a senior engineer, environmental specialist and staff engineer onto the team from other parts of the department, the staff report said.

Since January, Public Works staff have dedicated the bulk of their time to addressing storm damage, Roberts said, which means they’ve had to pause some of their other projects.

The new team will take over storm recovery projects, allowing the rest of the department’s staff to return to their usual duties.