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Fence that cost 'about $300,000' isn't around long

The eight-foot tall chain link fence that lined a portion of Olive Hill Road in Bonsall for a month cost "about $300,000," according to Michael Aguilar, project manager for the County of San Diego Department of Public Works.

The 1,200-foot long "debris fence" that straddled Olive Hill Trail was put up for safety reasons to prevent rocks or other things from falling onto Olive Hill Road from a burnt hillside produced by the Lilac fire last December.

"We reviewed all the slopes and put in some erosion control measures through most of the area, and along this particular section it was determined that the best possible method of holding back something that might be falling off the slope and into the road was to put in a fence," said Aguilar.

"The very first thing we did was spray Hydromulch and we also removed some rocks on the slope that we thought had the potential to fall because they no longer had some of the foliage around them to help them keep in place," continued Aguilar. "I think there was two or three rocks that we removed from the hillside area and then we hydromulched the whole area and then at the same time thought it necessary at the time to put in the fence."

Aguilar said the county hired an outside contractor to put up the fence and explained that the project was delayed due to a problem with getting materials.

"Because it was all associated with the fire, it was an emergency contractor that had to be used to get this up," said Aguilar. "It took almost two months to get it (up) because they were waiting on parts and things like that. There was a process where the post holes for the fence had to be drilled out and then we put in sleeves and then we waited for the rest of the hardware to come in. So, there was probably about a month lag after we drilled the holes to wait for the parts."

The fence was completed in late March and removed in late April. Aguilar said county crews removed the fence in "a couple of days."

Aguilar said the county received complaints about the temporary fence from both area residents and motorists who felt the fence was too close to the road and made for dangerous driving conditions.

Those complaints, combined with the determination that the probability of rocks and other debris falling onto the road had decreased due to regrowth on the hill, prompted the decision to remove the fence.

"Staff had been monitoring the slope and the revegetation of it, and the potential for debris looked like it had been reduced over the time of both the construction of the fence and the one month afterward," said Aguilar. "Based on that and all the complaints, it was probably a good idea to get it removed."

Aguilar said the fence was always meant to be a temporary one and that it served its purpose.

 

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