Caltrans gears up for rough SLO County road conditions ahead of rain storm
Another winter storm is expected to hit San Luis Obispo County beginning Thursday and lasting through New Year’s Eve, according to the National Weather Service.
With 1 to 3 inches of rain forecast to fall on Saturday, travelers could see rough conditions on roads throughout the county and on Highway 1 in Big Sur, according to Caltrans District 5 public information officer Kevin Drabinski.
Caltrans crews will be out during the daytime to patrol streets and monitor for any hazards, including crashes, mudslides or flooding, Drabinski said.
“We have no way of predicting what the roadways may be like days ahead of time,” Drabinski said “We’ve done our preventative maintenance and now we’ll be doing reactive work for whatever may happen.”
That preventative maintenance includes ensuring all culverts are open and free of debris so that rain can flow under roadways, Drabinski said.
The agency also regularly monitors steep cliff areas — with special concentration on burn scars such as those left by the Dolan Fire in Monterey County — to check if there are any new loose rocks that could fall during a storm, Drabinski said.
Drabinski noted that travelers should be especially cautious when driving on Highway 1.
“It’s prudent to drive that road cautiously under the best conditions,” he said. “Especially with the rain, we hope drivers will be even more careful.”
On Thursday morning, rocks and debris fell on Highway 1 south of the Paul’s Slide area near Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, momentarily causing some traffic delays, Caltrans tweeted Thursday.
Crews quickly cleared the debris and the road was fully open as of Thursday afternoon, the agency said via Twitter.
Travelers should research road conditions before they depart, Drabinsky said.
Caltrans’s QuickMap provides real time information on state highway closures, rock slides, flooding and traffic congestion along with live camera feeds. The map can be accessed at www.quickmap.dot.ca.gov.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 2:35 PM.
