PINE GROVE, Calif. — Pine Grove's Ridge Road has been feeling more like a bumpy boulevard lately that an estimated 8,000 people, like Maria Aguilar, use every day.
"When you're driving fast, you can feel it," Aguilar said. "(The road) is still not even."
Over the past few months, PG&E crews have dug trenches to underground equipment along a mile-long stretch of the road. The county says PG&E filled in the trenches with asphalt and promised to come back out to add another layer to cover the entire road.
During Tuesday's meeting though, the county's board of supervisors pushed back against that plan. Supervisor Jeff Brown proposed telling PG&E to not fix the road and instead, give the repair costs back to the county.
"I have to pinch a penny somewhere. Where do I pinch a penny?" Brown said. "We're going to re-grind this whole road from Highway 88 down to Lower Ridge Road from a grant."
That larger, state-funded project is still in the design phase and possibly months out from the work starting, but the stormy season is also brewing.
"You've got to do something until then," said Angel Craner, whose coworkers use the road to get to work each day. "You've got to get through the winter."
Some also have concerns that snow plows might further damage the road during the winter.
"The whole thing is just going to fall apart," said Amador County Public Works Director Richard Vela. "It’s going to be a real nightmare for the next six months."
County officials say that PG&E had planned to start their repairs next week, so they are expecting a final decision on Friday or over the weekend.
In a statement, PG&E said its discussions with the county are ongoing.
"We currently are in discussions with Amador County on the undergrounding issue. Conversations are ongoing, and final determination on cost allocation has not yet been determined," the statement said.
This close to winter, the uncertainty over the street's future is almost worse than a rough ride on Ridge Road.
"Hopefully, we are going to be OK, but we just don't know," Aguilar said. "Fix the road. That's what we want."
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