Kaminokaze

I was wondering if anybody has an update as to Morgan Territory Rd?

"Morgan Territory Road is closed between Marsh Creek Road and Manning Road. The road is open to local traffic and emergency vehicles only and is anticipated to reopen to through traffic on Thursday, February 9."

Lanceoldstrong

"...road closures are still in effect in Contra Costa County:

Morgan Territory Road is closed between Marsh Creek Road and Manning Road. The road is open to local traffic and emergency vehicles only and is anticipated to reopen to through traffic on Thursday, February 23."

Source: Storm Update: County preparing for next storm surge | Antioch Herald

cthenn

It is now closed due to yet another washout. No ETA on reopening.

Slide Forces Closure Of Morgan Territory Road In Contra Costa County « CBS San Francisco

Several homes are cut off and have to go the loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way around...ugh that would be a nightmare!

Kaminokaze

I did see they were letting people walk and ride through the slide area. That would be good. Car traffic should be cut down on the north side of the hill but the south side might be even scarier with more cars heading up.

cthenn

Yeah, no thanks I'll pass. You know all those rednecks out there gotta be none too happy about the detour. People in there aren't going to be in a leisurely mood heading up to do some hiking, they gonna be PO'd they have to go all the way to Livermore to do anything. I'm gonna stay the hell away from that road until it's fixed.

DiabloScott

This could take a while.

Also... residents are whining about bikes already:

cthenn

Where is that quote from? Just some typical bottom feeding comment section troll or is this some kind of community spokesperson?

Not that I actually disagree with this...it's a safety hazard for everyone. As I said, most of these residents are going to be very upset they have to drive that part of the road and all the way to Livermore, and there will be a LOT more cars going both directions on that part of the road. I'm not one of these obstinate cyclists who will go out of my way to "enforce" my right to the road, and I would also be pretty PO'd if I had to drive over there *every day*. I own a car too, so I understand how it could get frustrating to be held up by a cyclist (or a group) on a part of the road where there is literally no way to pass without the cyclist pulling over.

I would highly recommend everyone just stay away, I've already gotten into one shouting match with some yahoo who felt I had no right to be on the road (and this was the 2 lane part!), so I imagine things are gonna be pretty tense with most of the residents who are now forced to drive 45 minutes to get to civilization.

Also, regarding the road, apparently it's still sliding, so they can't even begin to fix it because it's too dangerous to get in there. My guess is it's gonna be a helluva lot harder to fix this than it will Alhambra Valley.

MetinUz

Oh man... I wonder if DMD will happen this year. So far Morgan Territory, Mount Hamilton Road and Palomares Road are closed, and there is still one more rainy month to go.

cthenn

I will add one thing about their "pleas for compassion". How about we make a deal, and YOU (as drivers) also show US (as cyclists) some compassion when it comes to how you interact with bikes on the road. Show just a few seconds of patience, pass us when safe, don't fly by at double the speed limit, or be downright reckless and aggressive toward cyclists. This "compassion" shouldn't be a one-way street, so to speak.

bikingshearer 

Yup, good behavior on the road should flow both ways. But based on the way the resident's plea was drafted, I doubt he/she is the kind of driver we have to worry about.


Look, we have to be careful out there, but we shouldn't lump all drivers into one basket with the a**holes, just as we don't want drivers to lump all of us into one basket with our own a**holes. And yes, the are a**hole cyclists out there, just as there are a**hole drivers and a**hole skateboarders and a**hole pedestrians and . . . . you get the idea. None of these groups are monolithic and most of each of these groups are made up of people of good will. Let's give the author of the Morgan Territory plea the benefit of the doubt unless and until he/she shows that he/she doesn't deserve it.

cthenn

Fair enough. My cynicism comes from an incident I had with a resident out there a few years back, yelling at me to "get off the road" and I shouldn't ride on "their" road. So, every time I ride MT, I think of that.

TBH, there are a lot of a-hole cyclists who give the rest of us a bad name, and the reason why so many drivers do hate us

Lanceoldstrong

I want to be Bikingshearer when I grow up.
Nicely put good sir.

bikingshearer 

Yeah, it is hard to be charitable, or even reasonable, in the face of someone behaving badly. There was a guy I went to high school with who thought it was the funniest in the world to sic his dogs ob cyclists riding up the Livermore side of Patterson Pass. The last time I dealt with hos mutt was 40 years. The last time I was on Patterson Pass was maybe five years ago. And I still was watching for the dog. So I understand completely.


"Grow up"? What is this "grow up" of which you speak? We do not have such things on my planet.

DiabloScott

This is really something. The whole road is closed and just that little red bit is impassable. I guess it's not unthinkable that riders would want to do the route from the south and go up The Plunge, get almost to Clayton and then turn around... but I'd be surprised if it were too many.

The road being closed to non-locals ought to be enough motivation to stay off anyway - the resident is probably worrying about nothing. BTW, that was posted to the Mount Diablo Cyclists Facebook page... which is mostly about riding safely and courteously.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1385...39609/?fref=nf

blt

A few things. First, one can still technically do Morgan Territory on a bike without turning around. It is possible to walk through the closed area. It seems some residents are doing that in order to avoid going all the way to Livermore -- park cars on both sides of the closure, walk through and do a shuttle. Some cyclists have walked through. I haven't seen it personally, but that is what I understand.

As for going up from the south side and turning around, I do that often, and I'm not alone. I rarely go farther than the staging area before turning around. Many others I talk to often go to Marsh Creek and turn around, I do it rarely. I once turned around very close to the spot of the closure (had a time crunch, just avoided the fairly flat last bit anyway). I'm sure it is far more common for those of us who live in Livermore or Pleasanton to go north and turn around than those who live closer to the north side.

For those of us on the south side, if we don't turn around, it is not only a much longer day, but the loops to do something other than turn around all have their drawbacks. Maybe combined with a trip to the junction it is worth going through Clayton, Concord, and Walnut Creek. Otherwise, not for me. Going to Brentwood to loop back? Not on Vasco. That means either Byron and Mountain House and either back up the usually nasty headwinds of Altamont Pass or the grind of climbing the east side of Patterson Pass, which is a pretty long day (or alternatives that make for a REALLY long day).

My Thanksgiving tradition is Morgan Territory, turn around when I'm going to run out of time before dinner or Marsh Creek, whichever comes first.

I haven't seen that the road is closed to non-locals. When I rode by on Manning on Saturday, the electronic sign a little way up the road seemed to say locals only beyond the park. I saw nothing to discourage cyclists. I have seen no indications that the park is not accessible.

There aren't a lot of residents who live on the north side south of the closure. Yes, there are some. But I can't imagine that it creates a big traffic issue for cyclists.

I can understand that they aren't used to driving that way where the road is one lane a lot and having to deal with cyclists. They probably like having cars coming the other way even less. There is one stretch a little below the steepest pitch in the middle of the south side where it is crazy narrow one lane, I don't want a car coming the other way when I'm on my bike, much less a car coming the other way when I'm driving.

I can also imagine that there will be some additional traffic on the south side from people who would normally go to the park from the north side and aren't discouraged enough by the closure to just stay away. I wonder if the same person who begged cyclists not to come also begs people to stay away from the park for the next year or so until the road gets fixed.

While the post was shared on the Mount Diablo Cyclists Facebook page, it was originally just a post on the Facebook page of a resident, who asked people to share, and who, in a comment, asked a cyclist by name (perhaps a Morgan Territory resident?) to help get info out to cyclists. The cyclist said he would, he shared the original post on the Mount Diablo Cyclists Facebook page, and here we are.

Chances are, I'll stay away from Morgan Territory for awhile, not just out of courtesy for northside residents who don't know how to drive either the top of the north side or any of the south side, but for my own safety from those drivers. And even if they manage to work out a non-flooded private road bypass for residents (not even possible at the moment), park users will still need to go south side, so there still may be traffic from drivers not used to the road for the next year or so. I'll check on what the experience of others is. I love the south side of Morgan Territory for recreational up and down riding, but the idea of too many drivers inexperienced with that road does scare me a little.

cthenn

5 Strava entries this month. So people are still doing it. I'm not gonna be one of them

gaucho777 

Can someone advise re the closed section? Specifically, if you were planning to ride and walk around the closure, how bad is that walking section in terms of length and overall terrain?

cthenn

No you can stay on your bike and ride through. The county laid some gravel down and compacted it, and also filled in the large cracks. They actually may open up the road (one lane) in a few weeks to cars, temporarily. Let me tell you though, apart from the rideability is dealing with the additional traffic and angry residents on the narrow portion. You may be ok on a weekday mid day, but I would not ride that on a weekend, or during a commute time. The residents do not want bikes out there, as it makes it much more difficult to pass in that very narrow section. Of course you are well within your rights to go there, but personally I am not going to ride it until it is fully fixed.

gaucho777 

@cthenn, thanks for the reply. I actually already went ahead and did the ride yesterday with a couple other friends/forum members. (Hence my last minute inquiry beforehand.) I can report that you no longer need to dismount. There are a couple brief rough patches, but no need to dismount. I can also testify to the unwelcoming attitude of the locals. While most of the people we passed were pleasant, one large white pickup truck made a point of passing extremely close to me on the climb (within 6") though I was far to the right and he had at least a couple feet on the other side. My friend a couple hundred meters down the road also reported being buzzed by the same truck.

Lanceoldstrong

I'm gonna pass on Morgan T for a good while.
It feels to me like it's time to just let the whole thing simmer down with the locals.
They are under a lot of stress with this situation.
People under a lot of stress are never at their best.

Late autumn has always been one of my favorite times to ride there.
It's gonna be at least 'till then before I feel like a visit.

cthenn

Morgan Territory is now open to the public (temporarily). There is a one-lane dirt/gravel temporary patch on top of the failing road, with timed traffic signals on either side. It is open 24/7. Do NOT run the traffic signal, as you may run into traffic going the opposite direction, in a narrow road lined with barriers. The good news is the vehicular traffic in the very narrow section south of the two-lane portion will likely have much less traffic on it now. The bad news is once the County starts the permanent fix, there will be no way to get through at all. They hope to have a bypass road going through private property and dirt roads, but I would really advise against riding that. Basically this road will be essentially off limits to bikes once the permanent fix gets started.

blt

IF they get the bypass road going, however, Morgan Territory should be OK to ride after the permanent fix gets started IF you are not riding through the bypass.

The problem with riding Morgan Territory when the road is closed and there is no bypass is that there is too much traffic in the one lane portions. So long as there is a bypass for cars, even if not suitable for bikes, traffic should be close to normal. If there is no bypass, then the crazy drivers going to and from the far north will once again be a problem.

Of course, many don't care about doing things like taking an up and back trip from Livermore to the staging area at the park, but for those who do, I don't see why the road should be off limits when the permanent fix gets started IF there is a bypass for cars in the closed section.

cthenn

The county (well...a private contractor) will be starting the repair work on MT very soon. When the work begins, the entire road is going to be dug up, and completely closed to all traffic. It's going to be a huge mess in there with equipment, heavy machinery, etc., and will probably be impossible to get through. From what I understand, they will be drilling piles for installing walls on both sides of the road to hold back the slide above and below the road. There will a bypass "road" for residents to use, but it will probably not be open to the general public. The road is basically a dirt fire road through the hills, coming out near the detention facility east of MT. Not doable by road bike. Unfortunately, unless you are REALLY REALLY hell bent on getting through, MT will be totally off limits until the repair is complete.

Information is available on the County PWD website.

Kaminokaze

Tonight I drove back from Livermore over MT and there are signs saying is that July 17, 2017~Oct 2017 Morgan Terr Rd will be closed.
I think ill be riding the Morgan Terr Loop this weekend might be a while before I can do it again.

Kaminokaze

October 13: Morgan Territory Road Repair Project Update

The County’s contractor for the Morgan Territory Road Slide Repair project is making good progress with the earthwork operation between the two retaining walls. The earthwork began on October 5 and includes excavation of the earth between the two walls to a depth of 10 feet and then recompacting the material. The earthwork must be done in 3 stages for structural purposes to ensure a stable site. The work includes the installation of a subsurface drainage system. Following the earthwork operation the contractor will install the 8" waterline through the site. Below is a picture of the earthwork operation.
The project is on track for completion by mid-November. We will continue to provides updates and pictures as the project moves forward to completion. For the safety of residents and construction workers, please do not go into the project site.
The Public Works Maintenance crews are continuing to maintain the access road.
Please keep speed to 15 miles per hour on the access road. Your neighbors on Leon Drive have allowed the use of their private road for this access so it’s important to keep speeds to the posted speed limit.