Another Big Sur slide sent boulders tumbling down onto Hwy. 1
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Crews near the old Chimney Slide found, then cleared a separate new slide within hours.
- Geotechnical teams warned of continuous rockfall, preventing immediate work below slopes.
- Regent’s Slide remains main obstruction; Highway 1 still closed with no reopening estimate
The latest slide on the troubled Big Sur stretch of Highway 1 showered rocks and boulders tumbling onto the roadway this week, but this one turned out to be a quick fix, Caltrans said Thursday.
On Tuesday morning, “our crews came upon the old Chimney Slide south of Limekiln” as they headed to the long-running work site at the Regent’s Slide, Kevin Drabinski told The Tribune.
There, they discovered a new slide blocking both lanes of the roadway.
“Geotech said there was near continuous rockfall, and it was unsafe to work underneath it. When we showed up Wednesday morning, we saw how correct our judgment was,” Drabinski said.
Nevertheless, crews were able to clear the slide and reopen the road within a few hours that day, he said.
Since then, “crews have made their way to Regent’s this morning to clear mud from road” there, he said.
Regent’s Slide is located about 27 miles north of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey county line. It’s proven to be the hardest to clear in a series of slides that have kept the scenic route between Cambria and Carmel closed for about three years.
The Chimney Slide in 2018 was about 3 miles south of Lucia and 20 miles north of the Monterey County line. It was one in a series of slides that winter, the largest of which was the Mud Creek Slide.
Until the Regent’s Slide area is cleared and repaired, Highway 1 is closed, for now from about 2.1 miles north of Lucia at Vicente Creek to 14.4 mi south of Big Sur at Lime Creek, according to the Caltrans road closure website.
“We still have no reopening estimate,” Drabinski said of the famous oceanfront route.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 3:34 PM.
