Months of punishing rain have Jordan Lane residents in Auburn watching the hillside above them slowly unravel. Neighbors say the slope is steadily washing away, sending rocks and sediment sliding onto the narrow street and stirring fears that one bad storm could cut off their only way in or out. They say quick patch jobs have not stopped the movement, and flooding in December and again this April flushed fresh debris all the way down to the pavement.
Neighbors Say the Slope Is 'Caving In'
Longtime resident Shelley Lorello told reporters the change on the hillside is visible to the naked eye, pointing out channels where stormwater has carved through the soil. "The hill is actually caving in," Lorello said. Neighbor David Hodel added that rocks have been inching their way down the slope for years.
Residents say a drainage pipe installed uphill from the homes was supposed to divert runoff, but water is still reaching Jordan Lane. After December's flooding, neighbors say Caltrans crews put up mesh netting on the slope, only for that netting to be damaged in the April storms. In a statement to CBS Sacramento, Caltrans said it sent a crew to evaluate the damage.
Caltrans Work Nearby Adds Context
This has all been unfolding while Caltrans carries out several safety and traffic projects along State Route 49 near Auburn, including a new roundabout and corridor upgrades that adjusted drainage patterns and roadside grading in parts of the American Canyon stretch. The agency scheduled a three week full closure last winter to get some of the roundabout work done and has signaled more upgrades to come on SR 49, a key foothills route.
That construction footprint helps explain why Jordan Lane neighbors say they have been seeing crews and short term fixes on the larger slope above their street. The Caltrans District 3 project page notes that the American Canyon roundabout work included realigning curves and upgrading drainage along SR 49.
What a Permanent Fix Could Look Like
Permanent slope repairs can range from rock fall mesh and catchment fences to retaining walls, new culverts, or more intensive top-down earthwork with anchor dowels, depending on how unstable the ground is. Caltrans has leaned on mesh drapery, dowels and major earthwork on other California slide areas, and those bigger jobs can stretch over months and cost millions of dollars, according to recent reporting.
Closer to home, roadwork this winter and spring included a slide-related closure on a nearby route. Old Auburn Foresthill Road was shut in February while crews worked to stabilize a hillside, KOLO reported, the kind of disruption Jordan Lane residents worry about. Coverage of SR 49 upgrades has highlighted how extensive these foothill corridor projects can get, SFGATE has reported.
Neighbors Want a Permanent Plan
People living along Jordan Lane say they are no longer satisfied with temporary patches. They want an engineering study of the slope and a clear timeline for a long term fix. Caltrans told CBS Sacramento it has evaluated the site but has not announced what comes next.
The city, for its part, has previously carried out fuel reduction work in the area. The Jordan Lane/Borland Avenue shaded fuel break appears on the City of Auburn wildfire preparedness page. For residents who say their evacuation route and daily commute both depend on Jordan Lane staying open, the question of what happens to that hillside now feels urgent in the short term and unsettled in the long term.
