Day: September 14, 2012

Rocky Creek road closures

What Kathleen Lee’s message below does not make clear is that these closures are intermittent, not every Sunday-Thursday, but approximately 10 of them through the winter, and another round with fewer closures, scheduled for Spring. All closures will be preceded with adequate notice to all.

“The work to build the Rocky Creek Viaduct has started. Hard closures of the highway, where no vehicle traffic through the construction site will be allowed, will begin at the start of October. In order to place the equipment and do the drilling work, the contractor will be allowed to close the highway for 10 hour blocks during the evening hours, Sunday through Thursday nights. These hard closures are anticipated to take place October through the end of January.

Caltrans has designed the project to have the smallest possible impact on the highway, and is working diligently with the contractor to ensure that these hard closures and the intermittent daylight closures occur during times when the work will have the least impact on the residents, businesses and travelling public.

Currently, the hard closures are scheduled from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am, Sunday through Thursday nights. After hearing from the community various concerns about these scheduled times, Caltrans would like your input as to the best hours for the hard closures.

Please respond to this survey as to what your preferred hours of closure are. Based upon all results, a decision on the hours of closure will be announced soon. For those hours that are later in the morning, these will only be an option if Caltrans and Carmel Unified School District can make arrangements so that the students can get to school on time.

Share this survey with your neighbors, employees and people who regularly travel the coast so that we have the broadest possible outreach into the Big Sur community for this important decision. Due to the short timing, please respond by 5:00 pm on Tuesday, September 18th. Please only respond once. Thank you for your help.

Link to Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BY9JGDG

Kathleen Lee
Chief of Staff for
Supervisor Dave Potter
(831) 647-7755″

The Road that Defies Gravity: Closures, delays, and other adventures on Highway One

By now, we are all familiar with the delays and closures that have been going on at Pitkin’s Curve and Rain Rocks south of Lucia for the last year – we still have about six months left to go here. The same thing is about to happen at Rocky Creek for the next year. A meeting is scheduled for 10 am this morning at the Big Sur Lodge to address issues and concerns about this construction, delays, and night closures. Steve Price will be leading the discussion. Maybe finishing this project in a year is too ambitious if it requires so many 10-hour night closures.

Also, for those who regularly travel to Cambria and other southern ports, be aware that Monday, 9/17, starting at 7:00 am, there will be delays of up to 1/2 hour between the county line just north of Ragged Point, to Hearst Castle, while Cal-Trans chip seals the road.

Finally, at the Alder Creek slide, starting on Monday, 9/24, there will be delays for about a month while Cal-Trans installs more rock slide netting at this location.

What can we expect when this road continues to march to the sea? Make sure and use the facilities at every opportunity, bring reading material, plan your trips accordingly, and make sure to bring an extra stash of patience and humor! A town run north or south now, rivals what used to be a trip to The City (SF) in the past, at least for length of time on the road!