The California Highway Patrol closed the transition at about 9 a.m. Sunday after a 100-foot section of the hill came down and took out a concrete K-rail.
The transition road had just reopened a few weeks ago after a six-week closure due to the February landslide. It cost more than $3 million to clean up the mess that time.
"It's a big inconvenience, really," sad motorist Rick Corvera. "They should have fixed it the first time, very inconvenient for everybody in the area … it's a big mess."
While commuters tried to figure out how to get to their destination without the 57 connector road, Caltrans is trying to figure out what caused the landslide.
"What we do know right now is this hill is very saturated with moisture, so we'll be able to have an answer once they're done with their investigation," said Patrick Chandler of Caltrans. Officials say recent rains are partially to blame, but there may be other reasons.
"We did fix it the first time, and we fixed it the best that we could and to the conditions at that time, but Mother Nature is an unknown entity and now the hillside has become re-saturated, something that we could not have predicted. So, we're back out here again to repair it," said Caltrans worker Deborah Harris.
Monday afternoon, Caltrans came up with a fix. The sliding hill will be cut into stair-step terraces, and they'll also install perforated pipes at each level. The pipes will then carry any water down the hill before it can saturate the dirt.
The repair work is not expected to take as long as last time and may take about two weeks.
Caltrans have yet to calculate an estimate for how much this project will cost.
If you're driving north on Highway 71, you can still connect with the 210 Freeway. If you're using the westbound 10, exit at North Towne Avenue and reconnect with the 210 Freeway that way. You can also use Route 605 or Interstate 15 to get between the 10 and the 210 freeways.
