Route 36 delays continue near Grizzly Creek, Caltrans warns of hour-long holds

A giant stump tumbling downhill in a Caltrans video may have looked dramatic, but the real message for drivers was practical: State Route 36 was still unstable near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, and delays were still part of the trip. Caltrans said motorists should expect one-way traffic, repeated holds, and travel times that could stretch by an hour.

Caltrans’ live road report listed one-way controlled traffic on SR 36 in Humboldt County from 15.7 to 16.3 miles east of US 101 because of slide removal, with delays of up to 60 minutes. The agency also listed one-way controlled traffic 4.3 miles west of Bridgeville through Aug. 31, 2026, and another controlled-traffic zone near Butte Creek Bridge through Dec. 31, 2026. Taken together, the restrictions show how much of the corridor is still being managed as a work zone rather than a normal highway.

On the stretch east of Swimmer’s Delight, crews were still dealing with an active slope where spider excavators were moving material downhill and rocks, stumps and other debris could reach the roadway below. Caltrans said the unstable site was not safe for through traffic during active holds. Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., vehicles were being held and then released at the top of each hour, a pattern that made the road especially slow for people heading toward Bridgeville, the Mad River region and inland Humboldt destinations.

The work is part of a broader effort to keep one of Humboldt County’s fragile escape corridors usable. Route 36 is not just a scenic back road; it is a backup route for evacuations, emergency response, school and work commutes, and access when the coast route is congested or blocked. Caltrans said a helicopter operation was expected in the middle of next week to place wire drapery over the slope as part of the stabilization work.

The corridor has been repeatedly battered by slides and storm damage. Caltrans said in June 2025 that a landslide had fully closed SR 36 east of Swimmer’s Delight near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park on May 31, 2025, and that the closure would last at least two more weeks while crews removed hazards and realigned the roadway. Separate funding packages later added about $3.2 million for work east of Keller Road, about $2.6 million for slide removal and roadway repairs east of the Grizzly Creek Bridge to east of Alderpoint Road, about $1.7 million for a new culvert east of the Little Larabee Bridge, and about $5.5 million for repairs west of Bridgeville. The road may be open in places, but it was still far from normal.