Flooding shuts down Highway 101 in Gilroy

GILROY, Calif. - In the South Bay flooding caused major problems for commuters along Highway 101 on Monday.

Both directions on the highway were closed for a time, starting at East 10th Street in Gilroy. This as the Uvas Creek had overflowed its banks, putting a portion of the freeway underwater.

"This is affecting every thoroughfare that we have in the two counties that we cover here, in the Hollister-Gilroy area. We have highway 152 which has suffered some slides. We’ve had flooding in and around the areas. We’ve also had flooding on 101. Which is actually more extensive the further south we are from this location," said Sergeant Mike Orta, of the Calif. Highway Patrol – Hollister.

The creek flooding inundated Highway 101 near Mesa Road and turned the roadway into more of river. Side streets and alternate routes are impacted as motorists were stuck in near stand-still conditions for hours.

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"Our emergency operations center will continue running this week," said Lee Wilcox, San Jose assistant city manager. "Additional flooding on streets, and creeks and river rise. So we’ll be monitoring that."

There were several mudslides and roadway flooding in south San Jose.

One motorist drove through the high water before the southbound lanes of Santa Teresa Boulevard were closed. Her car was flooded out and stalled on the side of the road.

On Monday afternoon, Santa Clara County officials issued a flood warning for residents living near Highway 101 and Bolsa Road in Gilroy.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter, @JesseKTVU and Instagram, @jessegontv.