While parts of some highways will be reopening today and through the week, a few major roadways in Ventura County affected by the recent storms will remain closed for weeks. Meanwhile, dozens of smaller roads have been closed as crews work to remove mud, dirt and debris caused by flooding and the torrential rains.

The following road closure information was provided by the California Department of Transportation:

• Highway 101 will reopen north of California Street on Saturday. The Main Street onramp from the northbound highway will also open that day. Mudslides and flooding have closed the highway all week.
• Highway 33 will remain closed from Fairview Drive to Lockwood Valley Road until Friday.
• Grimes Canyon Road from Broadway to Highway 126 will be closed until Tuesday.
• Highway 126 from Fillmore to the Los Angeles County line will be closed until Jan. 28.
• Highway 150 will be closed from the county line to Santa Ana Road until Jan. 28. A stretch of 150 from the Summit area to Thomas Aquinas College will be closed until April 11 while crews work to fill a 75-foot sinkhole created by the storms.

Mounds of mud and debris have clogged dozens of roads across the county, but the damage to each road varies. Some roads have been closed so workers can assess the damage before deeming them safe for motorists.

"A lot of it is debris clearing. Rocks, trees, mud," said Nazir Lalani, deputy director of the Ventura County Public Works Transportation Department.

Aside from La Conchita, the rural regions of Ojai, Fillmore and Piru have been hardest hit by the storms. Roads have been washed out. Bridges are in danger of collapsing.

The communities have suffered dozens of road closures, including major thoroughfares, with flooding in multiple residences and stranded residents unable to enter or leave safely. Difficult access to the regions is complicating cleanup efforts.

Some spots hardest hit by the rains are Santa Ana Road, which runs near the Ventura River, and Torrey Road, which crosses the Santa Clara River.

Crews will have to rebuild parts of Torrey Road, said Lalani.

"That takes weeks and weeks," he said.

Repair crews are also having a difficult time accessing hard-hit areas like Hopper Canyon Road in Fillmore. "You couldn't tell where the road was," he said. "You just couldn't tell there was a road there. It just looks like one giant field of graded dirt."

So much mud coated PIru Canyon Road that crews attempting to access the road Tuesday were forced to turn around. Workers have been assessing damage all week and expect to have a better sense of the storm's effects by Friday, Lalani said.

The biggest impact is along Highway 101, the main route connecting Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

About 700 students who commute to the University of California, Santa Barbara, have been cut off from the university, said Joan Magruder, university spokeswoman. The school of about 20,000 students is accessed by taking Highway 101.

"It appears that there are fewer students on campus," she said.

Thomas Aquinas College, in the hills above Santa Paula, has canceled classes through the week, said Anne Forsyth, director of college relations.

Access to the college from Santa Paula is completely cut off, she said, and faculty members have not been able to reach it.

"We decided that we just couldn't risk having employees come up," she said. Campus directors will determine this weekend whether the college will reopen Monday.

Victoria Ajaye and her boyfriend, Stewart Oaks, have been stuck in their home on Matilija Road off Highway 33 off and on since Christmas because of the flooding and mudslides.

They decided to venture outside their neighborhood to go to Vons on Wednesday when other residents cleared the muddy debris with heavy equipment. A sinkhole 4 feet in diameter on Matilija Road serves as a reminder of the heavy downpour.

"An open road doesn't necessarily mean it's passable," Ajaye said. "We just can't afford to have anymore rain."

-- Staff writer Marjorie Hernandez contributed to this story.