Caltrans is hoping to reopen Highway 33 near Oak View with two lanes of traffic sometime today, ending hourslong backups and easing the trip to and from the Ojai Valley.

"Right now the Ojai Valley, for me, is my No. 1 concern," Bill Sanborn, Caltrans District 7 region manager, told a gathering of roughly 60 residents at the Oak View Community Center on Wednesday. "I'm doing everything in my power to get this done."

Area residents called the meeting to discuss erosion problems along the Ventura River near Santa Ana Road. But Sanborn's remarks, which drew a round of applause, dominated the meeting.

Caltrans on Monday reduced Highway 33 to one lane near Creek Road, about 7 1/2 miles north of Highway 101. Storm damage eroded support for part of the road on Arnaz Grade. Traffic went through the area in caravans, alternating northbound and southbound. The normally 30-minute drives to Ojai became two- to four-hour nightmares with idled traffic stuck for miles during rush hour.

The closure nearly cut off the Ojai Valley from the rest of the county. Four of five roads to and from the valley were already closed for storm damage repairs.

On Wednesday night, crews were working overnight to pave a new southbound lane on the shoulder of Highway 33. When reopened, the speed limit will be 25 mph, Sanborn said. It will take two to four months before Caltrans can reopen the closed lane, he said.

Caltrans' next priority is to reopen Highway 33 north of Fairview Road to Lockwood Valley within a week, he said.

Highway 150 near Santa Barbara might not open for about two to four months, Sanborn said. A bridge on that road in Santa Barbara County has washed out and won't be repaired until the fall, according to a media statement from Caltrans' District 5 office in San Luis Obispo.

Closures between Summit Elementary School in the upper Ojai Valley and Thomas Aquinas College on Highway 150 might not be lifted until April, Sanborn said. About 10 projects require Caltrans work in that area, Sanborn said.

The closure starts south of Steckel Park in Santa Paula. Residents are allowed past for now, but the area is dangerous and car insurance is void if there's an accident there, Sanborn said.

Meanwhile, it will take two to four months to clean up a mudslide on Santa Ana Road, about one mile north of Foster Park, said Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett.

Under emergency rules, county transportation officials Wednesday awarded a contract to do the work, he said. Planning can start, but the work can't proceed until President Bush declares Ventura County a federal disaster. Bush can't do that until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger collects damage figures from other storm-ravaged counties, Bennett said.