Sonoma County Public Infrastructure

🚧 Road Work Update: Preparing for the Season Ahead 🚧

With our major summer paving work now complete, Road Maintenance crews are shifting their focus to drainage, roadside vegetation, and other routine maintenance across Sonoma County.

This week’s work includes:
💠Cleaning roadside ditches and replacing culverts to help keep water moving and protect roadways
💠Roadside mowing and brush cutting, including continued work with CAL FIRE
💠Repairing a sinkhole on Stony Point Road
💠Hand patching worn sections of roadway
💠Repairing road shoulders and guardrails
💠Maintaining traffic signs at various locations

The Culvert Crew also removed and replaced a culvert on Canyon Road. The attached images show this work in progress, which helps improve drainage and protect the roadway from erosion and storm damage.

This transition from paving to drainage work is an important part of maintaining our road system and preparing for wetter weather ahead. Clearing ditches and maintaining culverts helps stormwater flow where it should and can reduce roadway damage when the rains return.

As always, please slow down when approaching work zones, follow posted signs and flagger directions, and give crews plenty of room to work safely.

Thank you to our Road Maintenance teams for the work they do year-round to keep Sonoma County moving.

🚧 Occidental Road Update: Businesses Remain Open & Accessible
Full-depth recycling (FDR) is underway on Occidental Road as crews work to rehabilitate the roadway from the ground up.

Here’s what to know as work continues:

⏰ Work hours: Crews are expected to work approximately 7 a.m.–7 p.m. The longer workdays are intended to help shorten the overall duration of this phase.

🚧 Closed to through traffic: Please use the posted detour if you do not have a destination within the construction area.

🏡 Local access is maintained: Residents, employees, customers, deliveries, service providers and agricultural vehicles with destinations within the work zone will be accommodated. Because large equipment is operating in the roadway, please expect delays while crews make it safe for vehicles to pass.

🛍️ Occidental Road businesses remain OPEN and accessible. Signs are now in place at the construction area to help make that clear to customers and visitors, and additional signs will be placed at other key locations along the detour and construction signage.

🛣️ What does FDR look like? During this process, the existing pavement is recycled to create a stronger roadway base. The road will temporarily look and drive more like a maintained dirt road before it is paved.

📅 How long will construction last? The project is currently scheduled through September 3. Construction schedules can shift based on progress and field conditions, and we’ll share updates if that changes.

Thank you to the residents and businesses who have been sharing questions and feedback with us. We know this work is disruptive, and we appreciate your patience while these improvements are completed.

🚧 Occidental Road Update: Businesses Remain Open & Accessible
Full-depth recycling (FDR) is underway on Occidental Road as crews work to rehabilitate the roadway from the ground up.

Here’s what to know as work continues:

⏰ Work hours: Crews are expected to work approximately 7 a.m.–7 p.m. The longer workdays are intended to help shorten the overall duration of this phase.

🚧 Closed to through traffic: Please use the posted detour if you do not have a destination within the construction area.

🏡 Local access is maintained: Residents, employees, customers, deliveries, service providers and agricultural vehicles with destinations within the work zone will be accommodated. Because large equipment is operating in the roadway, please expect delays while crews make it safe for vehicles to pass.

🛍️ Occidental Road businesses remain OPEN and accessible. We’re working on additional signage to make that message clearer to customers and visitors approaching the construction area.

🛣️ What does FDR look like? During this process, the existing pavement is recycled to create a stronger roadway base. The road will temporarily look and drive more like a maintained dirt road before it is paved.

📅 How long will construction last? The project is currently scheduled through September 3. Construction schedules can shift based on progress and field conditions, and we’ll share updates if that changes.

Thank you to the residents and businesses who have been sharing questions and feedback with us. We know this work is disruptive, and we appreciate your patience while these improvements are completed.

🌳 Planning Today for a Greener Tomorrow in Sonoma Valley
Sometimes project planning means getting out of the office and walking the sites together.

Sonoma Public Infrastructure’s Engineering team recently joined City of Sonoma staff to evaluate potential locations for tree planting associated with County projects in the Sonoma area.

But choosing where to plant a tree involves more than finding an open patch of ground. 🌱

Environmental permits and resource agencies help determine where mitigation trees can be planted, generally requiring locations relatively close to the project. From there, teams consider whether a site can reasonably accommodate planting and, importantly, whether there is reliable access to water.

That last piece matters. Without a sustainable water source, young trees may not survive—or they may require costly long-term maintenance. Working with neighboring agencies can help identify locations where existing irrigation or other water infrastructure may be available.

And when possible, we’re looking beyond simply meeting a mitigation requirement. Could those trees also provide shade, enhance a public space or create another lasting community benefit? Finding locations that meet environmental requirements and make sense for the long term is the goal.

🌳 Know a potential location? If you represent a public agency or facility in the area and are interested in being considered for future tree planting associated with these projects, contact us at [email protected]. We’ll keep the information on hand as future planting opportunities are evaluated.

And after a day spent thinking about things that grow, there was one particularly appropriate final stop: the Watmaugh strawberry farm. 🍓

A little planning, a little partnership—and a few strawberries along the way.

🚧 Upper Old Cazadero Road Update: 30-Minute Delays Ahead
Crews are continuing work on the newly installed lower ground anchors, including completing and testing them. This phase is expected to have less impact on the roadway, with:

🟡 Aug. 17–28: Up to 30-minute delays

When construction activities are not actively underway, the full width of the roadway will be open. Emergency vehicles will continue to have access at all times.

What comes next? The next anticipated six-hour closure will be needed for paving, currently scheduled for early September. We’ll share updated dates and times once that work is confirmed.

Thank you to Upper Old Cazadero Road residents and travelers for your continued patience as this project moves closer to completion.

🚧 Occidental Road Construction & Access Update
Construction schedules can shift when equipment becomes available, conditions are favorable, and work can safely move forward. In this case, the Occidental Road project has started earlier than originally anticipated, and we’re working to keep information updated as conditions change.

Ghilotti Construction has already begun preparation work on Occidental Road using one-way traffic control, which has resulted in delays for some travelers. While full-depth recycling (FDR) is not starting tomorrow, roadway closures and traffic control are already in place. FDR is now expected to begin Wednesday, August 19.

Once FDR begins, the posted detour will be used to keep through traffic out of the active work zone.

🏡 Homes and businesses remain accessible. Residents, employees, customers and clients, vendors, deliveries, agricultural vehicles, and others traveling to a destination within the work area will be allowed through.

🚗 Please plan for delays. Large equipment will be working directly in the roadway, and local traffic may occasionally need to wait until it is safe to proceed.

The detour is intended to reduce through traffic in the work zone and help maintain access for those who need to reach destinations along Occidental Road.

We understand the frustration that comes with changing conditions and earlier-than-expected impacts, and we appreciate your patience as this work continues.


Alt text: Map showing the Occidental Road work zone and detour via Piazza Road, Hall Road, Willowside Road and Guerneville Road. Residential and business access will be maintained.