Rain forces road closures across Central Coast

The sign says the road is closed but no one is heeding the warning on Black Road west of Santa Maria Tuesday afternoon.

A lull in rainstorms hitting the Central Coast has allowed a portion of Black Road to dry out after a downpour Sunday night and Monday morning and motorists were taking advantage of the conditions.

“I don’t know if it could be any worse than the one we just had”, says Tanglewood resident Adam Chavez, “we got a couple of inches within an hour, it was pretty crazy.”

Black Road is a popular north-south link along the western Santa Maria Valley that also serves the Tanglewood residential neighborhood and other local businesses in the area like Tanglewood Market.

Anytime a portion of Black Road closes it further isolates the enclave on the outskirts of town.

“No, no, no good, anyway when it rains, its no good”, says Singh who owns Tanglewood Market..

The rain has sent creeks, culverts and river beds in the area running again with water for the first time in years.

Some of those creeks intersect with Black Road and other roads in the area and could pose a problem depending on how much more rain we get in the coming days.

“Actually this whole area drains really well”, Adam Chavez says, “really well, it does, the actual neighborhood.”