Drivers urged to plan ahead as rest areas close along busy coastal corridor

Drivers traveling on California's scenic Highway 101 this summertime volition request to program up aft roadside remainder areas successful some directions of the road closed due to the fact that of a h2o shortage.

The northbound and southbound Gaviota Roadside Rest Areas successful Santa Barbara County closed July 1 and are expected to stay closed done Oct. 1, according to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

The closure affects some directions of Highway 101 adjacent the Gaviota Tunnel, a heavy traveled agelong betwixt Buellton and Goleta. The shutdown leaves travelers with astir 35 miles without a state-operated roadside restroom, California work Edhat reported.

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The closure is owed to a deficiency of disposable h2o needed to afloat run the facilities, Caltrans said.

The Gaviota remainder areas service 1 of California's busiest coastal corridors, utilized by commuters, tourists and long-distance travelers moving betwixt Southern and Central California.

Summer travelers connected California's Highway 101 volition request to hole up aft h2o shortages led to the closure of remainder areas successful some directions. (MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

With the facilities unavailable, Caltrans is encouraging travelers to program up by identifying alternate places to halt for fuel, food, restroom breaks and remainder earlier opening their trip.

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Officials said the remainder areas volition stay closed until a reliable h2o proviso is restored, with nary reopening expected earlier Oct. 1.

The contented appears to stem from the area's h2o proviso alternatively than regular maintenance. Local reports bespeak the facilities trust connected h2o from an inland outpouring that is extracurricular Caltrans' control, and the aforesaid remainder country experienced a akin extended summertime closure past year.

Officials are encouraging travelers to program up by identifying alternate places to halt for fuel, food, restroom breaks and remainder earlier opening their trip. (iStock)

The Gaviota shutdown comes arsenic different California remainder areas are besides temporarily unavailable.

In Kern County, Caltrans has closed the northbound and southbound Interstate 5 Tejon Pass remainder areas portion crews upgrade h2o and wastewater facilities, Caltrans said. That task is expected to proceed done August 2027.

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The latest closure besides sparked treatment among drivers acquainted with the route, galore of whom said the Gaviota remainder areas person go known for predominant shutdowns.

The shutdown is 1 of respective impermanent remainder country closures crossed California. (iStock)

"Keeping the Gaviota remainder halt unfastened longer than six months... impossible!" 1 Reddit idiosyncratic joked.

Others said the closures person go truthful communal that they present expect to find the facilities unavailable.

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"I don't retrieve ever seeing them unfastened different than during holidays," different commenter wrote.