Bad news is, Hwy. 1 is closed again. Good news is, it was expected. Here’s why

Caltrans crews are heading back to a familiar Big Sur site, this time to clean up mud and debris that overloaded a catchment area designed to keep Highway 1 clear from runoff.

But news releases from State Parks and Caltrans emphasized that the need for cleanup work at the Regent’s Slide site — which just reopened last month — was not a surprise.

Yes, the nearly 7-mile highway segment is closed again, but the good news is it’s not because of any failure of the three years of work to stabilize and contain the hillside.

Instead, the catchment simply filled up, and mud-carrying runoff slid over and under the full barrier.

“This erosion activity is an expected outcome following recent slide repairs and will continue as the slope seasons over time,” the releases said. “Debris in the catchment area has overtopped the concrete barriers on the northbound shoulder, allowing debris and rocks to travel directly on to the highway.

Mud on the road was almost guaranteed despite the new catchment area, they say, when drenching downpours hit the steep, repaired slope that had been scoured and reshaped during the lengthy repair work.

Message and directional signs are in place to alert travelers in advance of this closure, which now runs from two miles north of Lucia to one mile south of the Esalen Institute, the two agencies said. State Parks also nailed it down further on a social-media map, saying the closure points are at Vincente and Rat creeks.

There is no estimate yet about when a full reopening of the highway link between the Central Coast and the Monterey Bay area might happen, but Caltrans will provide updates as work progresses.

“Crews will begin to clear debris from the catchment area during upcoming breaks in the rain,” the agencies said of the weather-dependent cleanup that’s also affected by safety and site conditions.

There is some encouraging news: After the drenching rains, “the slope above the roadway at Regent’s Slide remains stable,” the agencies said.

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

805-781-7904 (voicemails only)

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.