North Valley weather interrupts construction project

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- As rain is picking up in the North Valley it is slowing down construction crews.

Construction equipment sits along the M Street bridge site, however, construction workers are nowhere to be found. Mike Conway with the City of Merced said bridge work along Bear Creek came to a halt when wetter weather rolled into the area on Thursday.

"The contractor was supposed to come out last night and put in K rails, big concrete barrels you see on different road project, but because of the rain they did not go out last night."

Across the street from the city building, UC Merced's downtown campus center still had a handful of crew members still working. Conway said it is nowhere near as many as he usually sees working.

"Normally, if it was sunny, they'd have three times the number of people out there."

A short drive from Merced, Le Grand High School put another pause to their football field project. Superintendent Donna Alley said the new field was supposed to be open around March, but was delayed as a result of February storms.

Alley said crews were finishing up work on the field last night, but had to stop after rain started to fall.

"They were finishing up with sprinklers and stuff before the sod is supposed to be here, so that may put us a day or two behind."

Sheriff Vern Warnke said rivers are moving quickly, but adds that there aren't any major flood concerns just yet. However, he said they are still keeping an eye on snow melt.

"It looks as though this is going to be a cooler storm, which is a relief for us because that way the snow isn't going to be impacted by a lot of rain-- when warm rain hits that we're going to be inundated."

Warnke said the Sheriff's Department's aircraft, rescue vehicle, and dive team are ready at moment's notice if a water emergency arises.

The Bear Creek bridge project will resume next week-- the road will close completely from midnight to 5 a.m. next Tuesday to get this project going again.

In Le Grand, they expect that football field to still open by the end of April.

There are no major safety concerns, but the Sheriff's Department is advising residents to stay out the fast moving rivers, especially the Merced River.