River & Road Repair

UPDATE FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 29TH: The closures for bringing in the rock tomorrow are only INTERMITTENT. There will be flagging, and some closures, but NOT closed from 9:-3:30 as currently rumored. Here is the relevant language from Cal-Trans update issued earlier today: “There will be a closure this Friday, Jan. 29 from 9 am to 3:30 pm to deliver the rocks to the site and set up for next Monday’s work. This will be an intermittent closure with one-way reverse traffic control with flagging.”

Remember that photo I posted here of the erosion by the Big Sur River? Yes, this one:

and this one:

Well, the repairs are starting, and unfortunately, it means shutting down power to Big Sur and all businesses and residences from the Big Sur State Park to the County line. (Of course, there *IS* no power to the County Line. Lucia has their own power, as does everyone somewhere just south of Esalen.)

The announcement says that it will involve primarily the northbound lane, and this section is on the southbound side, so might be another location, but I’ll let you know tomorrow when I go through that area.

Here is the announcement:

Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMERGENCY BIG SUR RIVER PROJECT ON HIGHWAY 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK

MONTEREY COUNTY – An emergency project to prevent the Big Sur River from cutting into the embankment by the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds begins next Monday Feb. 1, Caltrans officials announced today.

Alternating lane closures with one-way reverse traffic control will be in effect from 7 am to 5 pm Mondays through Fridays for two weeks with closures primarily on the northbound side. Up to 10-minute delays are anticipated. There will be a closure this Friday, Jan. 29 from 9 am to 3:30 pm to deliver the rocks to the site and set up for next Monday’s work.

There are power lines in the way so PG&E will be shutting down the power during work hours for the two-week project since there are strict specifications on the placement of a crane in relation to overhead power lines. PG&E will be notifying residents/businesses from the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds south to the County Line informing them of the electricity shut off while work is taking place.

The project is necessary as the Big Sur River is rapidly eroding the hillside. Big rocks, approximately 5’ x 5’ x 5’ will be placed via crane in the river to keep it from further cutting into the roadway embankment.

Granite Construction of Watsonville is the contractor for this $925,000 emergency project.