Storm Not Likely to Slow Road Repairs

The third strong storm of the year is expected to arrive in the Southland on Thursday night, but it isn’t likely to slow down efforts to repair quake-damaged roads or buildings.

“Most of the work we’re involved in currently involves demolition and heavy equipment,” Caltrans spokesman Russell Snyder said Tuesday. “The rain shouldn’t hinder that.”

Friday and Saturday pose the best chance for showers, and possibly thunderstorms, that could produce mudslides in areas affected by wildfires, said meteorologist Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., in Wichita, Kan.

Up to three inches of rain may fall in the mountains and up to an inch along the coast before clearing occurs on Sunday or Monday, he added.

The storm is the result of a trough of low pressure falling south from the Gulf of Alaska and pulling in tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean.

At the Van Nuys Superior Court building, court manager Zoe Venhuizen said she anticipated that the seventh floor would be reopened today. It had been closed since Monday due in part to damaged ceiling tiles and light diffusers.