Highway 1 is set to reopen sooner

The scenic stretch near Big Sur that was buried in a landslide will carry traffic by the end of July, Caltrans says.

A scenic stretch of Highway 1 in Monterey County that was buried last year by a massive landslide will reopen by the end of July, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The highway has been closed at Mud Creek for 14 months. On May 20, 2017, a slide in the middle of the night — the largest landslide ever recorded on the Big Sur coast — covered a third of a mile of the highway and buried it beneath 40 feet of dirt and rock. The slide’s immense size also added 15 acres to the coastline.

The new quarter-mile stretch of highway will run over the landslide and will be buttressed with a series of embankments, berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material, Caltrans said in a statement.

The agency said building atop the landslide was cheaper and quicker than other options, such as building a tunnel. The highway repair has cost about $54 million. The new target date is nearly two months sooner than anticipated. Last month, Caltrans officials said the agency was aiming to reopen the highway by mid-September.

“Rebuilding Highway 1 and restoring traffic along the Big Sur coast has been our priority, and by opening the highway sooner than expected, it will boost the many Central Coast communities affected by this major landslide,” Richard Rosales, acting director for Caltrans District 5, said in a statement.

The reopening date could still be reevaluated in early July, officials said.

Once the highway reopens, intermittent weekday lane closures and roadwork will continue for several months to finalize repairs.