Problem: A road "fix-it" project in the Eldorado National Forest required some additional fixing after last week's rainstorm.
An approximately 4.5-mile stretch of Wentworth Springs Road, about 1.3 miles east of Georgetown, was in the midst of being rehabilitated when the storm hit, and some of the new road base broke up under the stress of rain and traffic.
Georgetown-area resident Doug Renzoni said motorists weren't expecting newly formed potholes, and some vehicles suffered damage.
"There were vehicles with busted springs and busted axles," he said.
Solution: Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration, which is overseeing the project, said the contractor filled the potholes as soon as the rain stopped. "Mother Nature just generally hates roads," he said, and a road under construction is particularly vulnerable when it rains.
The road base, which was exposed when the storm hit, consists of "cold recycled" or ground-up asphalt. "Then we smear hot asphalt on the top," Hecox said. The hot asphalt is being applied now, and Hecox said the project is on track for completion by Thanksgiving.
In the meantime, motorists are advised to take it slow.
Tom Celio, El Dorado County deputy transportation director for maintenance, said the area is posted as a construction zone.
"It's fully signed for safety," he said. "They're trying to get people through there with due caution."
THE CRIME LINE
Sacramento robberies fall compared to last year
By Phillip Reese
preese@sacbee.com
With the economy in the tank and Sacramento residents desperate for a buck, it'd be easy to assume that robberies are on the rise.
Not so, according to a Bee analysis of city police data.
During the first eight months of the year, Sacramento robberies dropped 12 percent, going from 1,212 last year to 1,071 this year, police figures show.
Almost all types of crime are down in the city, part of a nationwide decline that experts partially attribute to higher incarceration rates and modern policing techniques.
Most of the nastier types of robberies are happening less often. The number of Sacramento home invasions dropped from 85 during the first eight months of 2008 to 72 during the first eight months of this year. Bank robberies dropped from 13 to 11. Carjackings held steady at around 60.
Natomas is benefitting most from the trend. The area saw a large number of home invasions during 2008, prompting neighborhood outcry and a redistribution of police resources. Sacramento cops made several arrests in the area toward the end of the year, and the number of robberies in North Natomas fell 40 percent, going from 163 during the first eight months of 2008 to 98 during the same period this year.
The other big drops in robbery happened in Oak Park and south Sacramento. Both of those areas have historically been plagued by high violent crime rates, but saw robberies decrease about 15 percent apiece during the first eight months of the year.
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