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A recently rebuilt section of New Idria Road in south San Benito County is already showing signs of deterioration, and a local resident says he is concerned over the quality of the reconstruction work. A county official says the damage was caused by heavy equipment being used to clean up the New Idria Mine Superfund Site, which is being transported on the road.
San Benito County Public Works Director Steve Loupe said the New Idria Road rehabilitation project involved grinding and compacting 16 miles of roadway near the Griswold Hills. The straightaway section of the road was done first and included a layer of oil and sand.
Resident Jeff Hall told BenitoLink he was concerned over the quality of the work done by the contractor and the cost to taxpayers. He said he and other residents called the county looking for answers but never heard back.
“It was a waste of money,” he said. “It’s frustrating that the county didn’t get anything done.”
However, Loupe said that shortly after the road work was completed, “extremely heavy equipment” was transported to the New Idria Mercury Mine Superfund Site.
“The single chip seal should hold up with just farm cattle trailers and farming equipment,” he said. “However, after that equipment went through, we noticed some of the issues you probably observed out there, unfortunately.”
Loupe said he was aware of the Superfund cleanup project but did not expect that it would involve heavy equipment that would be transported on the refurbished section of road.
The New Idria Mercury Mine was operated between 1854 and 1972 and produced over 38 million pounds of mercury. It was the largest operating mercury mine in the country at one point.
In 2011, because of a large amount of hazardous waste left behind when the mine was abandoned, it was listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Superfund Site, which are the most contaminated places in the nation. According to the EPA, a cleanup plan will likely be selected in 2026 and implemented the following year. There is no estimate of when the cleanup will be completed.
Nearly Impassable
Prior to its reconstruction, New Idria Road was filled with potholes. Motorists created an unofficial lane on the shoulders rather than drive on the actual road.
Loupe said the county budgeted $3.1 million to repave the road as part of a $40 million plan to rehabilitate various roads. He said the county has spent about half of that budget so far. The funds are coming from the general fund, which is revenue the county gets mostly from property taxes. He said that money did improve the road.
“It isn’t great but it actually is a lot better than it was even when we originally did it,” he said. “We’re going to have to go back and add a little bit of more oil and more grindings to the road to make it a little more weather resistant.”
For a windy, seven-mile stretch of the road, Loupe said, the county ground the roadway and added cement, a process known as full depth reclamation, to provide the base. It was followed by a layer of oil and chip seal.
He said there isn’t a warranty for how long a single layer of chip seal is supposed to last, but the team believed it was enough to handle local traffic. He said the road serves about 30 residents and seasonal ranching traffic, as well as weekend travelers that do recreational off-road driving in the area.
He said the county considered installing two layers of chip sealbut opted against it because of the extra funds spent on the straightaway section.
He said county road crews are currently doing spot repair work.
Hall, however, believes the work was not performed correctly. When he spoke to BenitoLink in October, he pointed to areas where oil was visible and even peeled a piece of chip seal on a forming pot hole.
“At least the county is consistent,” he said. “They did everything wrong.”
The county will evaluate the roads following the winter and if it’s in bad shape, Loupe says he may have to ask the board of supervisors for additional funding.
2023 Washout Repairs
The county completed repairs to New Idria Road following a washout caused by rainstorms in 2023. The washout repairs cost a total of $420,594. The Federal Emergency Management Agency covered $336,475 of the cost, while the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services covered $84,119.
The county installed two four-foot culvert pipes covered by rock and dirt. Loupe said the two culverts are expected to handle the majority of storms. “However, if we get another 100-year storm or back-to-back 100-year storms, those two pipes aren’t sized for that.”
He said the county has determined that a permanent bridge is required, and plans to start construction in mid-2025. The state granted the county about $3 million for the project following another washout in the same place in 2021. He said the design and the environmental analysis are both about 66% done.
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