Will Highway 1 close in Big Sur ahead of winter storms? Here’s what drivers can expect
Caltrans won’t preemptively close Highway 1 this winter along the Big Sur coast when heavy rains are forecast, the state road agency announced Tuesday.
That’s a change from the previous two winters, when Caltrans closed some Monterey County sections of the highway ahead of big storms because of concerns about landslides at Mud Creek, about a mile south of Gorda, and at Paul’s Slide, just north of Limekiln State Park.
Caltrans’ decisions were based on advanced monitoring and assessment at those still-active slide locations, the agency said in a Tuesday release.
“Our absolute priority for Highway 1 and the Big Sur Coast is safety, for the local community, the traveling public and our road-maintenance crews,” Caltrans District 5 director Tim Gubbins said. “Our continuous measurement and monitoring of these slides give us confidence that we will be able to react to any activity there without having to close the highway in advance.
“Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast is a treasure,” he said. “It poses challenges like erosion and landslides, even in years when we don’t have a fire. As they always do, the professional women and men of our Caltrans crews will keep an active eye and exert continuous effort to keep this renowned highway safe.”
To prepare for winter storms and provide additional yearround protection for drivers, Caltrans has stepped up its efforts on annual pre-winter preparations along the stretch of Highway 1 from Cambria to Big Sur.
That’s especially true in locations affected by the Dolan Fire this summer, according to the release.
Those burn scar areas, which range approximately from Nacimiento-Fergusson Road to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, could be at risk for potential debris flows, so crews are inspecting and fortifying drains and culverts in the area.
Crews have constructed protective measures and redundant inlets at dozens of locations, Caltrans said.
Workers have armored culvert entrances with debris flow racks, designed to keep culverts open and prevent water from spilling on the road.
At two critical drainage locations, the crews also installed flexible debris-flow barriers made of interwoven steel rings and cables; those are to keep debris flows off the highway.
Annual hillside work known as “rock scaling” also has been stepped up, especially on Dolan Fire-burned hillsides. To accomplish that, crews must scramble up the sides of the hills to first identify and then safely remove loose debris before it falls on the highway on its own.
According to Caltrans, crews have made significant progress in wrapping up a $24 million project paving a nearly 35-mile stretch of the highway from Carmel to the Torre Canyon Bridge near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
While some follow-up chores on the project will continue through the summer, according to Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski, the work is not expected to affect those traveling on the road.
For traffic updates on other state highways in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, call Caltrans at 805-549-3318 or go to dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 1:27 PM.
