See dramatic drone photos of massive landslide still blocking Highway 1 to Big Sur
A major landslide has blocked Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast for the entirety of 2023 so far with no end in sight — and new aerial photos show just how bad the conditions are.
Dramatic drone photos released by Caltrans on June 23 show the scope of the massive debris removal project currently underway at Paul’s Slide, after December storms sent tons of debris barreling down the slippery slopes, completely burying the scenic roadway.
Caltrans has previously estimated roughly 500,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris will have to be removed from the site before it can be reopened.
That’s enough dirt to fill roughly 150 Olympic-size swimming pools — or 2.5 million standard bathtubs.
Caltrans District 5 spokesman Kevin Drabinski on Monday described the entire operation to clear the roadway as a “complicated ballet.”
Because the debris at the bottom of the slide acts as a resisting force holding everything in place, heavy machinery needs to create paths to the top and around the slide to maneuver as they clear the mountain from above and move down, he said. He said crews are working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week.
“I have seen these machines operate before and it is high art,” Drabinski said. “It is like a coordinated ballet of operators who are skilled and committed to the job and who communicate extremely well so as to work safely.”
The sheer scope of the slide and the delicate nature of the work means Caltrans still has no firm estimate for a full reopening, saying last week that it would be “several months.”
Drabinski said the agency hopes to have a new estimate for when Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide will reopen sometime in mid-July.
Meanwhile, crews are also currently working to clear a slide at Dani Creek, immediately to the north of Paul’s slide. Those repairs are expected to continue through August.
That means much of Highway 1 is open from both the north and south, before drivers from either direction are forced to turn around at the spot of the two slides.
On the southern end, the highway remains closed just before the entrance to Limekiln State Park, which is itself shuttered for repairs.
The highway closure at the north end is now at Lucia, about 23 miles north of the San Luis Obispo-Monterey county line and 55 miles from the Monterey area.
This story was originally published June 26, 2023 at 12:32 PM.
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