Hwy. 1 to Big Sur could reopen early after 3-year closure
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Caltrans says Regent’s Slide on Highway 1 might reopen before March 30.
- Crews first must finish mesh, culvert, barriers, paving and a final roadway assessment.
- As always, reopening remains weather-dependent; crews may confirm timing only days ahead.
Travelers may only be weeks away from once again driving California’s entire Big Sur coast — for the first time in nearly three years.
A Caltrans official confirmed to The Tribune early Monday that, depending on weather and road conditions, “Highway 1 Regent’s Slide would likely reopen in advance of the March 30 estimate.”
Through traffic from Cambria to Carmel has been cut off since early 2023 by a series of landslides that blocked, covered or even took out part of the oceanfront highway that’s considered one of the most scenic routes in the world.
The perniciously stubborn Regent’s Slide, 27 miles north of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey county line, has been the long, literal roadblock.
With rain in the forecast for Christmas week, an exact early reopening date remains in flux, but new reports say best case could be as early as Dec. 31.
“Early last week, Caltrans began notifying public safety officials, schools, and businesses that while that there is no exact reopening, Highway 1 Regent’s Slide would likely reopen in advance of the March 30 estimate,” Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski told The Tribune in an email reply.
He warned, however, that “construction crews still need to perform dozens of tasks and may only know the actual date for reopening a day or two beforehand.”
Drabinski confirmed that Caltrans had begun reaching out to agencies and businesses.
“In ongoing conversations with the community during the closure, stakeholders have asked for notice of a possible reopening to be shared as early as possible so that they might have time to prepare for an expected influx of travelers,” Drabinski said.
In giving those advance notices, Caltrans emphasized that, as usual, construction progress remains dependent on weather and site conditions.
Until crews plunged long “sheer dowels” into the hillside earlier this year, the site had continued to seep and slide.
“Monitoring shows no significant slide movement since last month’s shear dowels installation. In the coming week, a new, larger culvert will be installed in the northbound shoulder to manage storm runoff,” according to the Dec. 10 “Highway Highlights” weekly email from Caltrans.
Among the continuing chores, Drabinski said, “The last panels of protective metal mesh netting need to be lifted into place by helicopter, and the roadway still needs to be fully cleared of debris.”
“After that, a comprehensive assessment of the roadway and shoulder areas will be performed, which would be followed by grinding and paving of the roadway,” he said. “Additionally, crews have to install concrete barriers topped with fencing on the northbound shoulder below the slide area.”
As has been the case throughout work at Regent’s Slide, he wrote, “weather and site conditions will continue to govern the progress of repairs.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
