Road Closed

The most incredible photo is in the Herald. I’m on my iPhone so not sure I can copy but here is the link, and if that doesn’t work, navigate from the link on the right under “news”
cid:image001.jpg@01CBE425.7BE095F0
http://www.montereyherald.com/portlet/article/html/render_gallery.jsp?articleId=17629879&siteId=570&startImage=1

The southbound lane of Highway 1 about 2 miles south of Rocky Point is gone and so is the majority of the northbound lane in Big Sur on Wednesday. (ORVILLE MYERS/Herald Correspondent)

Here is a link to a written report from KSBW but it doesn’t really add anything to what we all ready have and with that, at 9:30 pm, I bid you a good night. I’ll keep on top of this story tomorrow.

And from KION this photograph:

Here is KION’s link, which includes one more photo, as well as a report on conditions. KION

Everyone should keep in mind that the South Coast portion of Highway One is very fragile. We have a major slip out at Lucia being repaired, and there have been numerous slides at Mud Creek south of Gorda, as well as another possible contender for a closure going on between the county line and Ragged Point. My trip down N-F Rd. last Friday revealed it was in pretty good shape on the front or coastal side, but won’t know about the back or inland side until this Friday, and will report then.

Remember, many of our biggest slides and longest closures have happened in the Spring.

7:00 pm – one unconfirmed report is in that this will be closed for 5-7 days. I have not been able to verify this. FWIW, CHP says: “EMERGENCY VEHS CAN PASS AT THEIR OWN RISK”

At 5:04 pm, when I originally got the email from Soaring, and then again at 5:15 pm, when I got the call from a friend in town, nothing was on the CHP website. Now it says:

5:45PM 1039 ENTAC
5:44PM 1039 MTRY CTR
5:41PM POTENTIALLY SEVERAL DAYS IF NOT LONGER TO BE CLOSED
5:41PM 22B-CALTRANS ALSO EXPLORING IDEA OF USING PRIVATE AXESS RD JEO HWY 1, UNK IF AVAIL
5:41PM CALTRANS CHANGINGMESSAGE BOARD JSO CARMEL, UNK DURATION OF CLOSURE BUT IS LONG TERM
5:41PM HARD CLOSURE NB AT BIXBY AND SB AT PALO COLORADO
5:39PM 22B-1097, JSO ROCKY CREEK BRIDGE APPROX 40 FT SECTION OF RDWY TOTALLY GONE, CALTRANS 1097, CLSOURE IN PLACE
5:17PM PER CALTRANS, THEY ARE WORKING ON RDWY HOWEVER WANT UNIT TO CONFIRM THIS IS LONG TERM CLOSURE
5:16PM CONFIRM W/CALTRANS 1 LN RDWY CLOSURE FOR IMPROVEMENTS
5:13PM 1039 27-S7, SEND B WATCH UNIT
5:11PM PER RP 3/4 OF THE RD HAS GIVEN WAY
5:11PM RD CREW FLGMEN 1097/NO RADIO CNTACT

Highway 1 is closed by Rocky Creek, Post Ranch had an employee who was driving to town was turned around and had to come back to Sur. The road dropped 6 inches, and isn’t safe to drive on…. 5pm Weds. March 16, 2011. South bound lane, north of Old Coast Road, between Bixby and Rocky Creek. (Original report by Soaring, CHP is claiming 15 inches, but either way, it is serious.)

Also got a call from a friend who had clients down here who couldn’t get home to Carmel.

FWIW, when Rock Knocker and I drove this section on Monday, he was cackling over the drops and predicted this would happen.

Per CHP this section of the road dropped 15 inches overnight. SB lane pretty bad. Hard closure at
Just a personal observation – if CT can’t get one lane safely opened before dark, the road will be closed for the evening and work will resume during daylight hours.

4 thoughts on “Road Closed

  1. Just came home at 1745, after working my way past some lovely people (not apparently law enforcement related) trying to be helpful at Granite Creek. They had everyone stopped and made a point of telling me I couldn’t get here – apparently they hadn’t figured anyone might actually live north of the blockage…. (;>))

    I too have been watching that crack over the past two weeks especially. However I went by this morning around 9 and back at 11 and it was still drivable then, so I question the ’15” overnight’ report’s strict accuracy…. Not that it matters, but….(;>))

  2. Lucky I got the word just before I was to leave the school around 5pm. Opted to take Nacimiento. No problem, but you can see all the recent flooding, rockfalls, mudslides at every curve, particularly near the summit. The back side was a little better. FHL was fine, and the bridge is repaired, in good shape. So, for now, that long, curvy drive is ok…just watch out for all sorts of rocks on road, and pay attention to the sheer drops…no second chance. If it rains much ,N-F road could really go sour fast.

  3. Update on the link below with the alternate routs posted and a update from Cal-Trans on the schedule that pushed the repairs out a few months. The local school is going to be open and has been contacting all the parents regarding the bus issue. Middle and high-school kids can get their studies on-line or use the computers at Captain Cooper from 1-3 if they don’t have internet access.
    I was caught on the south side just after it happened coming back from a day in Sacramento. Long Drive already so hunkered down in Rio. Everyone has been very thoughtful, like after the fire. Food, offerings of help and help. Make the trip around tomorrow. Guess I can stock up on supplies.

    Here is the recent news blast. Big Sur, Calif–Central Coast News has learned part of Highway 1 could be closed for several months.

    Central Coast News reporter Susanne Brunner said at least 120 feet of the road, just south of Hurricane Point, slid into the ocean.  She described the scene as “crazy.” The drop is between 200-300 feet.

    CHP said it has no idea what caused the massive slide, but erosion could be to blame.  Chief Meteorologist Norm Hoffmann said the area has not seen an unusual amount of rain lately, but this could have built up over an extended period of time.

    Highway 1 is completely closed between Bixby Bridge and Palo Colorado.  The slide created serious issues for people on the road.  They were forced to leave their cars and walk to safety

    Alternate routes attached to the links for anyone planning to travel to our wonderful parks or has good ideas regarding the trash and mail. Oh ya, the old incinerator…

    http://m.kionrightnow.com/LocalNewsStory.html?pid=2264&parenturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kionrightnow.com%2FGlobal%2Fcategory.asp%3FC%3D151092%26clienttype%3Drss&itemurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kionrightnow.com%2FGlobal%2Fstory.asp%3FS%3D14266943%26clienttype%3Drssstory

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