If you've taken the Santa Rosa Road exit heading north on Highway 101 or driven along El Camino Real in Atascadero, chances are you've seen the construction work along San Gabriel Road, with no access to El Camino Real.
Michael Hawkins, owner of Chalk Mountain Liquor Store and Deli, is the only business on this road that wasn’t given an access point. Nearby homes, storage units, and Shell station all have an access point from San Gabriel.
“I came to work one day and it was shut off," Hawkins said.
He claims business has dropped about 40% since the road was closed about a week and a half ago.
"This is a major artery from Highway 101 to El Camino Real," Hawkins stated.
He says he was given no warning and no updates. However, according to Nick DeBar, Atascadero's director of public works, the city typically sends out a notice to all property owners fronting the roads about one month before construction starts.
DeBar also says the contractor goes door to door or hands out notices prior to significant work.
"For the last nine days, there has not been a single worker out here working on this road," Hawkins said. "What's frustrating as a business owner is I was never contacted by the city that this was going to happen so I could prepare for it.”
However, there was a reason for both entryways to the liquor store and gas station to be temporarily closed off.
“The subgrade was saturated to the point where it wasn't safe to drive on and there's also an eight-inch water main that's very shallow, less than a foot below," DeBar said. "That sub-grade that's very old and brittle, we couldn't let traffic go across. We had to close the road and we have a plan forward to address the saturated subgrade.”
The subgrade will be fixed once the new material is laid down by early next week, Debar says. By the end of next week, there should be at least one access point on San Gabriel Road to Chalk Mountain Liquor and Deli.
The business is still accessible via El Camino Real.
San Gabriel is one of 20 streets that are part of the city’s 2024 Pavement Rehabilitation Project. The total construction cost is $4.25 million.
DeBar says that area of town has a history of wet subgrades. It happens when the material beneath the surface is damaged from moisture.
