Sierra Geotechnical Services has been contracted by Inyo County to do the survey work, which began today. They will look at the rock slide, and safety/stability issues. They will also assess the structural concerns of the road itself, once the rocks have been removed, which won't happen until the weather patterns are stabile enough to allow work to begin in safety.
There are still a lot of rocks that haven't come down, as can be seen in the pictures of the slide, and these will have to be removed first by "scaling", which is a mining term. Scaling can be done manually or by spraying with high-pressure water hoses. This is often dangerous work.
Once that work is done, the larger rocks can blasted into smaller pieces and removed by heavy equipment.
Inyo County has received permission from the Army Corps of Engineers, because of the proximity of Lone Pine creek. Permissions also have to be obtained from the USFS before pushing the debris off into the canyon. The rock debris will be spread over a 1,000 foot space at the bottom of the canyon. Wouldn't be a good time to be at the bottom of the canyon!
Foot traffic past the locked gate is not recommended, due to the very unstable conditions around the rock slide.
It's uncertain when the rock removal will begin because of incoming weather (more snow tomorrow).
Last edited by Bob West; 02/16/17 04:00 PM.
