Mud Creek Slide ‘still active’ as Caltrans tries to figure out next steps

The Mud Creek Slide is “ongoing and still active,” Caltrans says in a new video explaining the situation before and after the “monumental” slide that added 15 acres of California coastline.

Caltrans had been working on Highway 1 since January to maintain the road, but crews noticed an increase in activity three weeks before the landslide, resident engineer Rick Silva said. And as things accelerated, large rocks and debris made the road unsafe, and Caltrans closed it down, geotechnical engineer Ryan Turner added.

The Mud Creek Slide displaced 75 acres of land on May 20, pushing it 600 feet out into the ocean and stretching 1,700 feet wide.

Now, Caltrans crews are working to gather information about the slide, Turner said, both with drone and lidar technology and on-the-ground crews to observe and map the features of Mud Creek Slide.

It will likely take an “extensive amount of time” to find a permanent, safe solution for Highway 1, Caltrans said. It was previously estimated that it will be at least a year before the road is reopened.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Mud Creek Slide ‘still active’ as Caltrans tries to figure out next steps."