The City of San Luis Obispo officially marked the completion of major storm-related repairs of San Luis Drive with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday — the one-year anniversary of the major storm system that caused millions in damage and led to the deaths of at least three people in the county.
A section of San Luis Drive near San Luis Obispo High School was severely damaged during the winter storms last year. Record rainfall sliced a 25-foot vertical cut into the embankment, endangering a natural gas line, a diesel line and the sole access route for over 180 homes.
"This project, it's a great one to actually have completed for the community, the risk and vulnerability of the area right here," said Matt Horn, the City of San Luis Obispo Public Works director. "The risk of failure was high and so getting this done, getting it restored so we can move on to other things is a value."
The city built a soldier-pile retaining wall where the embankment and parts of the sidewalk above had been washed away from stormwater rushing through San Luis Obispo Creek.
“It’s very nice to restore this area," Horn said. "It’s great to have a walkway especially adjacent to San Luis Obispo Creek, it’s beautiful and people can now see it just from the sidewalk as they’re walking to and from their home or school.“
Two-hundred and four areas of public property were damaged last year during the storms, according to an official count from the city. City officials said 192 have now been repaired — leaving 12 to complete. The city has a list of those on its website.
The damage from the storms that month cost the city an estimated $7 million to $9 million.
At least three people were killed in January of last year as powerful atmospheric rivers pounded the Central Coast.
Five-year-old Kyle Doan was swept away by floodwaters on January 9 in San Miguel when he and his mother were on their way to school. The mother survived. Kyle's body has not yet been found. The family has filed multiple wrongful death lawsuits since the accident.
That same day, a woman was killed in Avila Beach after her vehicle was overtaken by flood water on Avila Beach Drive. Karen Buccat, the woman who died, was later described by her daughter as "someone who could fill a room with laughter."
The next day on January 10, a 78-year-old man was found dead in a stored boat in Morro Bay. Officials said the death was storm-related.
