Caltrans Afternoon Update – Monterey Hwy 1 Closure Update at 3 pm
State Route 1 is closed from Ragged Point (SLO PM 72.87) to Lucia (MON PM 23.00) due to rock/mudslides and trees down in multiple locations. Motorists may travel south on Hwy. 1 from Carmel to Lucia or travel north from Cambria to Ragged Point. In addition, there is a full closure on Hwy. 1 at Mud Creek (MON PM 8.88) due to a mud/rock slides within the existing boundary of this closure. Hwy 1 is open to local residents traveling south who will be escorted through Paul’s slide (MON PM 21.6) to Gorda (PM 10) until 4 pm this afternoon. This escort will also take place from 8 am until 3 pm Saturday, Jan. 14 and Sunday, Jan. 15. An update will be provided at 12 noon tomorrow.
Jim Shivers
Caltrans District 5
High water on Rocky Creek forced a culvert to fail and cause a section of Palo Colorado Road to slide on Thursday. (Vern Fisher – Monterey Herald)
10 am –
For Immediate Release
January 13,2017
PALO COLORADO ROAD CLOSURE AT APPROXIMATELY MILE POST 3.3
The Monterey County Resource Management Agency – Public Works announces the closure of Palo Colorado Road as a result of a culvert/road section failure. The failure is due to flooding on Rocky Creek associated with the recent storms. Palo Colorado Road will be closed until further notice at approximately Mile Post 3.3, which is past the Fire Station but before Long Ridge Road.
Local and through traffic will not have vehicular access beyond that location.
Palo Colorado Road will be closed for an extended period of time (at least 30 days). However, RMA Public Works engineering staff will be evaluating damages to the road and will develop a plan to provide needed repairs as swiftly as possible. This is a major issue, and will require substantial road reconstruction.
For additional information, please contact County of Monterey Resource Management Agency Division of Public Works at (831)-755-4925 and our County website listed below.
8:30 am – and from the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade:
Cheryl Goetz, Mid-Coast LEAD
Anyone living above the Rocky Creek-crossing approx 3 miles up the road on Palo will be hard closed! Only emergency equipment allowed due to the road base deterioration. Plan accordingly for a possible long closure!
8:00 am –
Good morning everyone,
Thank you for your patience in receiving our updates.
Update to the Public and Locals:
Thankfully, the slide at Esalen (PM 33.10) was cleared last night, so the northern closure will move down to Lucia (PM 23) at 8 am. 200 cubic yards of slide material came down Mud Creek (PM 8.8) last night, so the southern closure remains at Ragged Pt. (SLO, PM 72.87).
LOCAL RESIDENTS, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND EMPLOYEES will have access to
and from Ragged Pt. to Pitkins (PM 21) but will most likely have to be escorted around Mud Creek. There is also still an active slide at Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6).
HWY. 1 REMAINS CLOSED from Ragged Pt. (SLO PM 72.87) to Lucia (PM 23) as of 8 am.
5 am – fortunately we have several days of clear weather in which to recuperate and clean up. The highway is still closed to the motoring public from the Fuller/Grimes area to the County Line. LOCALS ONLY MAY be able to get through from south of Paul’s Slide to Ragged Point, and from Lucia north, but Paul’s Slide is problematic. If you are NOT a local, please do not try to travel in the closed areas, as you could be a ticket, get stuck, or worse, and cell reception is virtually non-existent.
There is also a slide at Esalen, which requires driving on the shoulder. The Willow Springs crew managed to open one lane at Mud Creek before dark last night, but did not expect it to stay open over night, as it continued to ooze. Moon and stars were quite bright after all the cloud cover. IF you are out and about at all today, be patient, obey closure signs, and thank a Cal Trans worker.
Here is the slide at Esalen, photo by Dawn Fielding of Esalen.
Since I am able to upload photos, I suspect my satellite is sufficiently recovered to be back to what passes for “normal” for me.
Many thanks to the Caltrans crews – North, South and SLO – for all of the incredible work to clear miles of damage and get the road this far along. I hope that any tourists that wander down this weekend will be careful and respectful of the ongoing work and continuing hazards. Similarly, I hope that the locals will be understanding that most of the people visiting Big Sur are as far removed from their condo complex and 132 degree skinny vanilla lattes as they will ever be. It may be as far beyond their comprehension that a rock could somehow be in the road as it would be for a spaceship. It is a new year and a new start and we should approached it with the grace and gratitude of those for whom paradise is home and not a place to vacation. Or we should at least keep that attitude until both lanes at JP Burns are filled with parked cars. Happy New Year and thanks again to Caltrans, PG&E, AT&T and all of the people working so hard roll back Mother Nature’s tantrum.
Nice, Ken. Thank you.
bigsurkate
Hi Kate! A group of us are planning a bike ride from SF to Santa Barbara this weekend. Along Hwy 1! Are the conditions such that even bikes can’t get through? Any additional information would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!
Yes, conditions are such that bikes can’t get through. CLOSED TO ALL. Reschedule for Spring. It is going to get worse before it gets better.
Kate, why isn’t there more cell towers or cell antenna attachments to power poles in your area? Your blind or dead spots are crucial to stay safe- what does pg&e have to say on this?
Andrew, we don’t have PG&E down here between just south of Esalen (Dolan?) to Salmon Creek. Not enough customers to make it worth the cost, and the poles would be taken out each winter by landslides in any event.
bigsurkate
Besides, Andrew, we all live on THIS side of the mountain because we LIKE/LOVE being off the grid 🙂 NO billboards, either! 😀
Without visitors coming to Big Sur,the establishment’s along the road would not survive…So to have a haughty outlook regarding ‘visitors’ is disengenous to say the least. ‘Visitors’ don’t come here to trespass,they come because of what Big Sur is….They are not blessed with living in paradise-yet they have every right to enjoy the beauty of our area….If visitors are such a trouble to some,maybe one should try to buy some real estate on Mars….That way, one wouldn’t have to bear…..’Visitors’
BSK & Tony, the homesteaders way of life is rough when one is separated from life safety sources, family, & friends – be it satellite or not- those issues need to be solved- that’s stressful. I must be out of touch on this.
Great comment, Ken!!
“Palo Colorado Road closed as Big Sur braces for next storm”
http://www.ksbw.com/article/palo-colorado-road-closed-as-big-sur-braces-for-next-storm/8597917
There is plenty of trouble discussed for residents here…