3 pm – per Cal-Trans Highway One will be closed from Gorda south to Ragged Point from 5 pm tonight until tomorrow morning.
Noon Update from Cal Trans:
We are working hard towards re-opening the highway. At this time we are in the process of slide clean up and removal throughout the entire area. As it stands right now the highway is accessible to emergency vehicles only and we are hoping to re-open later this afternoon.
Current closure is from Esalen on the north and Ragged point on the south.
Greg DeAlba Jr.
Supervisor
Willow Springs Maintenance
(805) 459-7461 Cell
(805) 927-4243 Office
(805) 927-3493 Fax
EMERGENCY Satellite 888-254-5775
SIG ALERT — Highway 1 is closed from Ragged Point in north coastal San Luis Obispo County (Mile Marker 72) to the Coast Gallery in Monterey County (Mile Marker 42) due to multiple rock/mud slides. Crews are on site assessing damage and initiating cleanup. Alternate routes into Big Sur and Ragged Point are Highways 68, 101 and 46.
There is no estimated time of opening.
Stay tuned for updates as conditions develop.
7:30 am – This is the slide I wrote about last night at Big Creek and of which I have a few pictures. One is down below, and those of the damaged car that escaped is coming. Note the road is closed at least until mid day. Two vehicles got stuck in the slide and a third made it to Lucia with major damage, including a missing drivers side window with rocks coming into the back seat. Pics not loading. I’ll add later.
Detail Information
7:25 AM 10 [16] VEHS AT BIG CREEK
7:23 AM 9 [15] [Notification] [CHP]-CTRANS INQ IF ANYONE 28 SR1/BIG CREEK 2 VEH’S 1124 STUCK IN SLIDES, CTRANS NEEDS VEH’S REMOVED SO THEY CAN CLEAR RDWY / BLK TOYT AND GRY FORD ESCAPE BOTH 1124
5:47 AM 8 [14] PER CTRANS – WILL BE CLOSED AT MIN THRU MID DAY
10:04 PM 7 [13] 1039 ENTAC
10:01 PM 6 [12] [Notification] [CHP]-CALTRANS RECALLED WITH UPDATED INFO – SR1 CLOSED BTWN MM 10.1 TO MM 42
9:37 PM 5 [5] AT BIXBY BRIDGE MM 28.09 TO FALLERS PT MM 42.15
9:36 PM 4 [4] PER CALTRANS PUBLIC AFFAIRS – RDWY CLOSED ON SR1
9:30 PM 3 [3] SIG ALERT SENT
9:29 PM 2 [2] SB 1 IS NOW CLOSED AT MPM 48
9:29 PM 1 [1] NB 1 IS NOW CLOSED AT MPM 10
Unit Information
9:29 PM 2 Unit Assigned
9:29 PM 1 Unit At Scene
All photos by Brendon Shave.
Thanks for info. Caltrans road closure info says road is closed at 10 mile marker but their map indicates Ragged Point. Trying to figure out if I can access Gorda Mountain road from the south. Hmmm. Any updates?
Is anyone getting through at Bixby? KSBW reporting it closed Friday AM with opening mid-day.
Had plans to camp at Prewitt Ridge CG this weekend…..I’m guessing it’s not accessible? Is Nac-Ferg road closed? How muddy does the Coast Ridge dirt road get?
I seem to remember, a long time ago back in the 60s, there used to be a sign southbound just south of the Carmel river crossing on highway 1 that said something like ” Warning, Highway not patrolled at night” I don’t recall if it also said “Drive at your own risk” … I seem to remember as well that the sign was taken down at the request of the ‘local merchants’. When the reports come in about large rocks falling on cars and other cars stranded somewhere down the coast and calls are made to the Big Sur Fire Brigade for “some type of assistance” I am amazed that people find it necessary to drive the highway at night during a 5 year storm with several days of warning.
Hope all come through okay, don’t forget to duck. Sounds like a challenging and heroic escape with boulders, the broken window and limping car. I’d likely have done the same as long as it still went forward. I drove uphill on a well-trenched dirt Cachagua road on a tire rim once, my 4000lb ’74 Suburban loaded with a month’s groceries, and made it but the tire looked like cottage cheese. The rim wasn’t even bent! Ah, GMC of yore. Very little damage in CV from what I’ve heard, except a mudslide at Cachagua and Carmel Valley Road.
Anybody know if nacimiento fergusson road is passable?
Here at Pacific Valley School where I spent the night, I’ve seen a Waste Management truck drive by headed north, which means that it made it down from Monterey to Gorda. Also had a visit from an OnTrac delivery man who asked directions for a delivery to PV USFS station to the north of us. He came from Monterey and said the road was open (at least to service people like him) but there were numerous slides blocking one lane and Cal Trans was very busy with clearing them. I don’t know anything about what’s going on to the south. Please post a comment with an update if you know anything. I hope to head home to Cambria later today.
North Coast Ridge Rd, per USFS, has three boulders in the middle of the road, size of a smart car or VW Bug, too big for equipment around here to move, are calling in heavier equipment, the area is toward the bottom of the road. Higher up are numerous mucky mudslides, we are looking to see if we can walk around them, so far it doesn’t look possible…
Cal Trans closes the road so they can deal with the slides without having to deal with tourists blocking the road with their flat tires and other falling rock issues. It’s best to stay off the road and let them do their job. I had $1000 damage to my Subaru when I was caught off guard one year. It was a humbling experience from a seasoned local!