More of Highway 1 reopening near Big Sur sooner than expected
Drivers heading north from Cambria on Highway 1 will soon be able to get 11 miles farther.
Caltrans announced that the highway closure near Big Sur will shorten by 5 p.m. Friday, three days earlier than anticipated.
With a newly created turnaround for northbound traffic at the Big Creek Vista Point closure, vehicles coming from both directions will be able to travel to within about 5 miles of each other. Businesses on both sides of the slide remain open.
The new turnaround is about 27 miles north of the line between Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties The closure point had been at Pacific Valley, 16 miles north of the county line.
It’s still not known when or how road repairs at Rat Creek will be done and the approximately 100 miles of All-American Highway from Cambria to Big Sur and Carmel reopened end to end.
Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski is to give a presentation on the highway damage and plans at the North Coast Advisory Council’s March 17 meeting, according to council chairman Mike Lyons announced Wednesday at the group’s February Zoom meeting.
Drabinski said in news release Thursday that the Big Creek turnaround and “the northern turnaround just north of the Lime Creek Bridge at PM 32.1 will serve as the landmark limits for public travel on Highway 1 while repairs are being made at Rat Creek.
“In upcoming weeks,” he explained, “these turnarounds will be improved with permanent surfacing and enhanced striping. Sections of Highway 1 on the approach to these turnarounds will continue to be subject to one way reversing traffic control at various points as cleanup operations continue. Motorists can expect delays of up to 10 minutes.”
Highway 1 closed near Big Sur
Caltrans preemptively closed a stretch of Highway 1 in late January, based on forecasts of an “atmospheric river” storm that was anticipated to dump about a foot of rain on the area. The storm more than lived up to its advance billing.
On Jan. 28, a 150-foot section of the Highway 1 pavement and supporting ground below it washed away due to rain, runoff and debris that overwhelmed drainage infrastructure.
The resulting crevasse in the pavement made through traffic impossible.
Since then, cleanup and repairs have narrowed the distance between the north and south closures, allowing drivers to go farther in each direction.
No decision has been made yet how the complex repair will be made, and there’s no timeline yet for when that decision will be made. Caltrans officials are waiting to learn of their options for fixing the pavement at Rat Creek.
Engineers and geotechnical experts continue gathering data, inspecting and studying areas close to the washout and the surrounding canyon, to provide the groundwork for alternative designs for the roadway repair.
Crews, meanwhile, are preparing the area for whatever design is selected. Big excavators keep removing woody debris and mud from the canyon, which is then hauled out of the upstream basin and trucked offsite.
Crews are unplugging many culverts on both sides of Rat Creek, drainage infrastructure that was swamped by runoff and debris from the torrential rainstorm.
On the open road, maintenance workers are still clearing debris out of ditches up and down the scenic highway. They’re also helping emergency contractors within the closure area, performing such tasks as restoring drainage facilities and fixing damaged guardrails.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
