Rain slowed Highway 1 slide work near Big Sur. What Caltrans is doing to catch up
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Caltrans resumed excavation after a dozen November workdays lost at Regent’s Slide.
- Spring 2026 Highway 1 reopening date may be at risk after rain, fog and 3-year closure.
- Crews added more excavators, cable-net drapery and shear dowels to control rockfall.
Recent fog and rainfall dumped on Big Sur’s stretch of Highway 1 meant there were a dozen days during November when crews couldn’t continue working on long-running repairs at Regent’s Slide.
It’s not known yet if the work stoppages will delay the spring 2026 reopening Caltrans has been estimating for the full length of world-famous, oceanfront drive, let alone what kinds of weather Mother Nature will deal out between now and then.
“Despite recent rains, crews have mobilized equipment and dedicated fully staffed crews to advance repairs and take advantage of forecasted dry weather,” Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski told The Tribune Friday. “The completion of repairs remains, as we have signaled before, at the discretion of weather and site conditions.”
Parts of the popular highway that links Cambria and Carmel have been closed for nearly three years due to a cascade of landslides from unstable cliffs. But the most stubborn and troublesome area has been at Regent’s Slide, 27 miles north of the San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties line.
The slide originated approximately 450 feet above the road and caused the closure of a 6.8-mile segment of Highway 1.
It’s been an especially rough time for travelers who want to visit and the businesses and employees who serve them.
Study results released in September estimated that affected businesses had been clobbered to the tune of more than $430 million to date.
Now, “crews are working during the holiday and weekend to keep the emergency project on schedule for reopening Highway 1. Excavation work has now fully resumed,” according to the Nov. 27 “Highway Highlights” newsletter Caltrans sent out about the Regent’s Slide repairs.
“The team added two conventional excavators to the four spider excavators already in use, which has increased production,” the newsletter said.
An earlier Caltrans missive said “before the storm, the crew finished drainage work, including grading and installing water bars to keep water away.” Those efforts helped prevent erosion during the storm.
Among other effective efforts were installing and threading a new cable-net drapery system designed to contain and control rockfall to keep it off the highway or any other areas being protected.
Other support has come from shear dowels driven into the slippery slope, acting like long, vertical anchors, Caltrans spokespeople have said.
The dowels help counteract continued sliding off the face of the cliff, which has been an issue since the Regents Slide cascaded down the expanse Feb. 9, 2024, burying the highway under tons of rock, mud and debris that slid down the steep hillside, onto the highway surface and down to the sea below.
Previous slides closed the famous tourism drive for overlapping periods starting in January 2023.
The Regent’s Slide continued sliding and sloughing off, endangering crews and equipment while extending the closure.
For the latest, follow Caltrans District 5 on X, Facebook, and Instagram. For more information, visit the Regent’s Slide Removal Emergency Project website. For real-time travel updates, visit Caltrans QuickMap
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
