Road Repairs Begin on Sierra Highway : Canyon Country: Commuters must use alternate routes until at least March 15 while the strip north of Sand Canyon Road is repaired.

The sun shone over Sierra Highway on Wednesday for the first time in a week, but it just gave a better view of what a mess recent storms have made of that Canyon Country artery.

The 8,000 drivers who use to travel the 12-mile stretch from Sleepy Valley through Mint Canyon will have to settle into their alternate routes until at least March 15, officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works said Wednesday.

The County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved repairing the strip north of Sand Canyon Road, which includes two bridges that were rendered impassable.

The road sustained about $2.6 million in damages, public works spokeswoman Donna Guyovich said. The county hopes to recoup most of the money from the federal and state governments, she added.

Because the area was declared a disaster area Monday, said Greg Renick of the Joint Federal-State Information Center in Pasadena, the county may be able to recover as much as 94% of the costs of repairing roads damaged in the storms.

In the meantime, commuters have been diverted to other roadways, mainly the Antelope Valley Freeway and Soledad Canyon Road.

“Those roads were overloaded before the closure of Sierra Highway,” Guyovich said. “And that is part of the reason we are trying to expedite repairs.”

Renick also encouraged people whose homes and businesses were damaged by the recent storms to contact disaster relief centers at 800-462-9029.

Caltrans crews Wednesday had to close the outside lane of the southbound Golden State Freeway south of Templin Highway near Castaic because of buckling pavement caused by the recent rainstorms. Caltrans is in the process of issuing an emergency contract to repair the problem.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state office of emergency services plan to open an office in Acton by early next week to complement its existing office in Pasadena and the offices in Arcadia and Long Beach that are slated to open today.

Those eligible for disaster relief include people whose insurance does not fully cover storm-related damages to their homes and businesses. Assistance available includes temporary housing, mortgage and rental assistance, and low-interest loans.

“We encourage people who have suffered losses as a result of the flooding to apply for the programs and not determine by themselves their eligibility,” Renick said.