Lakewood Highway’s tricky soil giving motorists, Sonoma County officials fits

Anyone who drives the stretch of Lakeville Highway approaching Highway 37 — and that’s more than 18,000 people per day — is familiar with the cracks and crevices that buckle and warp the two-lane road.

It’s a frustrating and sometimes frightening experience for drivers and nearby residents who in desperation have affixed a plea to the signpost where the freeways intersect. “PAVE THIS ROAD,” the sign says in big white stenciled all-caps letters. “ROUGH ROAD,” an official warning sign cautions nearby.

“It’s been years, and it’s getting worse and worse and worse,” said Paul Decker, who lives nearby. “It’s just dangerous,” he said, noting that cars frequently veer out of their lane to avoid potholes. “You’ll see that. I’ll do it. If you follow the lane specifically, it’s a heck of a ride.”

The stakes have only risen as Lakeville has become a major thoroughfare. “When we moved here in 1986, we’d drive to the end of our driveway and sit there for 15 minutes before seeing a car,” Decker said. “Now, you’ve got to sit there for five minutes to get out.”

Officials are well aware. A Sonoma County 2020 Local Road Safety Plan called Lakeville, which connects the city of Petaluma to Highway 37 and the rest of the Bay Area, “one of the busiest roads in the county” that “accounts for a large number of collisions causing serious injury or death.”

“There’s no controversy or denying that stretch of road is dangerous,” said Gold Ridge Protection District Fire Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary. “Anecdotally, when crashes occur on that road, there’s no barrier, the shoulders are narrow, it’s often very high speeds, it’s one of the main ways people come in and and out of Sonoma County.”

Historically, Schroth-Cary said, the area where Lakeville and Highway 37 meet has been a hot spot for emergency response.

In the seven miles of Lakeville under Sonoma County’s jurisdiction, there have been 41 collisions since 2022, according to county records obtained by The Press Democrat.

There have also been 22 repair requests, including four this year, submitted to the county by drivers and even California Highway Patrol officers.

“Hit a MASSIVE pothole … Felt like tire or wheel to rip off. Worst pothole hit we’ve ever had in (Sonoma County),” one person said in a July 2022 submission. “Please look and fix. It’s criminal.”

Another woman reported she worried her RV was going to tip after hitting a dip on Lakeville about a quarter-mile from the 37 juncture.

“The hazardous condition out on Lakeville Highway has gotten worse in the last few days,” a CHP officer said in December 2022. “Large dip in the roadway, concerned a motorcycle will go off roadway.”

In March 2023, CHP again called in “potholes at usual spot,” roughly 10 inches deep and three feet wide, with “cars swerving to avoid them,” according to the report log.

Kasey Williams of Sonoma County’s Department of Infrastructure said the county is not ignoring the problem. It’s true: there have been a dozen projects to patch potholes, profile pavement, seal cracks and repair drainage along the road since 2022 totaling more than $180,000, work order summaries show.