Highway 37 reopened after weekend flood waters mostly cleared

Highway 37 in Marin County reopened Monday after crews spent much of the weekend working to clear the roadway of floodwaters from the nearby Novato Creek, according to Caltrans.

Authorities reopened the eastbound lanes and one westbound lane at about 11 a.m., according to a post on Caltrans District 4’s official Twitter feed.

The right lane of the westbound side of Highway 37 remains closed and it was uncertain when it would be reopened.

Each direction of the 21-mile highway that stretches along San Pablo Bay through Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties had been closed between Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue near Novato since Saturday, officials said.

Overflow from the nearby creek, a result of the past three weeks of storms that have inundated the North Bay, overwhelmed the levee and spread onto the roadway, officials said.

Caltrans workers used pumps to drain away the water and monitored rainfall as there was a continued concern “the creek (would) swell, with the danger of it overflowing the (levee) again,” the agency tweeted Sunday.

Officials said Monday that the remaining westbound lane, which is still closed for safety reasons, will stay closed until “Caltrans and (the California Highway Patrol) deem the lane safe for motorists to travel.”

“Caltrans’ crews will be on scene and will continue to monitor the area,” officials said in a news release. “Motorists are encouraged to allow extra time and plan their routes ahead of time.”

Highway 37 has a well-documented issue with flooding. In 2017, it had to be shut down for several weeks due to heavy rainfall.

Authorities have estimated it will be underwater by 2050 and that it will cost billions to fix it.

State legislators have considered a number of plans to keep the flood-prone highway from being inundated by rising waters, including building an elevated road that spans the existing highway.

But lawmakers couldn’t reach a consensus and the measure stalled last year in the state Assembly.

Flooding near Novato also continues to cause delays for some Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit routes, agency officials said Monday.

Many of the trips Sunday were delayed by at least 15 minutes and at most 30 minutes because the flooding caused “speed restrictions and subsequent train delays,” officials said in an email.

A bus bridge was established Monday between the Novato Hamilton and Novato Downtown stops because of flooding at Hanna Ranch Road, according to an email from SMART.

Delays up to 20 minutes are expected for most routes. Trip 11/southbound was canceled due to delays.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.