Southern route to open in late July
BIG SUR » The entire coastal stretch of California’s iconic Highway 1 will reopen at the end of July, restoring a beloved but fragile route from San Francisco to Los Angeles that has been closed for more than a year, Caltrans announced Tuesday.
Construction on the Mud Creek section of southern Big Sur, closed on May 20, 2017, after after fierce winter rains triggered a massive landslide, has been aided by contractor efficiencies, favorable weather and longer days, said Caltrans.
So the target date for completion, previously set for mid-September, has been moved forward.
“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,” said Caltrans Acting District 5 Director Richard Rosales, in a statement.
The landslide delivered hard times for Big Sur businesses that rely on tourism from Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and other Southern California cities.
The breathtaking coastal region has been a cul-desac, accessible only from the north and east. The closure has prevented vacationers from making the full drive along the worldrenowned coast.
The strategy for the new ¼-mile Highway 1 roadway — which traverses over the slide area using a series of embankments, berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material — is allowing contractor John Madonna to rebuild more quickly and at a lower cost than other alternatives such as structures, a tunnel or major earth-moving work that puts additional fill into the ocean, according to Caltrans.
Highway 1 has posed challenges ever since its asphalt was first poured along a ledge in Big Sur’s steep sandstone and shale cliffs in the 1920s and 1930s. More than 60 times in its history, the route has been buried by landslides.
But the 2016-2017 winter storm season was stunning in its scope. On May 20, 2017, the Mud Creek landslide sent more than 5 million cubic yards of rock and dirt onto the roadway and into the ocean, making it the largest-ever documented slide along the Big Sur coast.
The landslide created a new apron-like point into the Pacific Ocean, expanding the California coast by a stunning 13 acres — the size of 10 football fields.
A final update will be provided by early July, as roadwork progresses.
But even after the highway opens, construction will continue, with intermittent weekday lane closures for several months to finalize repairs, said Caltrans.