Watch helicopters carry workers, supplies up to top of washed-out Hwy. 41 hillside

Helicopters carried steel mesh, construction material and PG&E workers up an approximately 100-foot hillside on Highway 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero on Monday morning.

The highway closed Jan. 6 after a mudslide caused by heavy rains blocked the road. A Caltrans worker said rocks were still coming down off the hillside, and crews saw a 2-ton boulder fall Sunday.

PG&E crews worked Monday to de-energize and re-energize power lines so Caltrans crews could work safely to stabilize the hillside. Caltrans workers are removing more than 20,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock from the hillside — enough to fill six Olympic-size swimming pools — to keep the material from falling into the road.

Highway 41 will remain closed until mid-February, according to Caltrans. The project is expected to cost $1.5 million.

This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Watch helicopters carry workers, supplies up to top of washed-out Hwy. 41 hillside."