New sign at the bottom of Nacimiento at Highway One. Where’s the one for people coming over to the coast?
For the second time on a Wednesday between the scheduled, announced convoys we ran into another unannounced convoy. This was yesterday, 5/31, and was 2 lead vehicles, 4 of the super 10-yard trucks and 4 transfer trucks, which were super 10 yards pulling a loaded trailer. If a 10 yard exceeds the weight limit, then a transfer truck sure does. Hmm, here are the 4 trucks I saw pulling trailers of the 8 total. The little bridge I posted about is getting beat up. I will post the replies I have gotten, and next actions I will take.
From Senator Bill Monning’s Office;
“I spoke with Caltrans today and they informed me that the State investigated all structures prior to the first convoy several weeks ago and found it has the capacity to handle legal truck loads as defined by the vehicle code. As you are aware, the Department is not the owner of the road in question and therefore not responsible for the signage. However, we are responsible for the biannual inspections of the bridge and the load rating of the bridge. Monterey County has their own reasons for signing Nacimiento Creek Bridge under its rating.”
From MoCo Public Works:
“We have looked into this matter and the sign placed is an advisory signs for trucks. Our records indicate that the bridges along Nacimiento-Fergusson Road are capable of carrying loads legally allowed per the California Vehicle Code. However, the road is steep and narrow and thus the placement of the warning sign.”
Interesting that they say the above, and then post a brand-new sign.
I guess my next step is to try to get those biannual inspections from the County and for the state investigation.
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And the “…legal truck loads as defined by the vehicle code…” are? At least you got some work for the guys at the sign factory…
Kate, I’m sidetracking from the immediate topic but I hope not from the wider problem but do delete or reposition this if you want to.
If Trump pulls out of the Paris climate change agreement this afternoon, (probably only because as he says he “likes making war” and this would be him taking on the rest of the world) there might be a solution in taking the biggest, possibly even global Class Action against him/ his admistration, and not necessarily through an American Court. Would it work? I believe it could as it wouldn’t be the first successful Court Action against a president over global warming matters.
From The Guardian today:
“The US has been the staging ground for 654 climate-related cases, almost three times that of the rest of the world combined. Some of these cases have proved pivotal, such as a 2007 case where various states and cities demanded the Environmental Protection Agency regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
The supreme court ruled against George W Bush’s administration, leading to the EPA determining that greenhouse gases are a public health threat and opening the way for Barack Obama’s executive action on climate change.”
Sadly if Trump does the dirty, Big Sur is in a very powerful position to accuse the Trump administration of wilful neglect and of putting life in danger. After all you can produce plenty of evidence that he should be heeding.
I’ve been thinking this for a long time, years in fact, so today’s Guardian on line pieces fill me with angst for the crass stupidity but also with hope.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/23/climate-change-government-court-cases-study
In the meantime may your little bridge stand the test.
Thank you for your diligence on this and everything you get involved with!
I know there is a sign like that if you are coming from the south on Jolon Rd. at the entrance to the base.
From what I can figure out from the CVC (it is not a model of clarity) it is 43,500 lbs. But some drivers and operators from Windsor in Cambria today told me the transfer trucks I took photos of can carry up to 40 tons.
bigsurkate
Kate:W hat really concerns me now is what happens when the bridge is completed in September and Hwy#1 opens allowing the public to drive south from Carmel. With Mud Creek years away from opening where will they exit Big Sur? Over Nacimiento? Having hoards of tourists in Motorhomes driving over that road will be a nightmare. Surely they are not going to drive all the way down to Gorda and then turn around. So how and who is going to control access to Nacimiento once the bridge is open?
That is an excellent point, Lindsay. It looks like now would be an excellent time for Monterey County and the state to implement common sense rules on the use of hwy 1 through Big Sur, first and foremost in my mind is limiting the use of RVs.
Not an engineer, but used to be married to one that specialized in bridges. The biggest stressor on bridges is what is called live load. The best example is a speeding, heavily laden truck bouncing as it travels. On narrow curvy roads a large truck is not going to be speeding, especially if there are curves before and after the bridge. They would not produce much of a live load. Most bridges can handle a much larger load than they are rated for. This gives a margin of safety for the public. I have heard that some places rate briges way lower then their real weight limits as a way to reduce dangerous traffic on windy twisty roads. Of course it only works if you put signes up at the beginning of the road.
Yesterday, 5/31, Dave Congalton, on 920 KVC Radio, interviewed CalTrans engineers Colin Jones and Tim Cubbins about the Big Sur mudslides and all things connected to re-opening Hwy 1. During the listener call-in part of the broadcast, Syd described the impact on locals, how Big Sur was still in recovery mode from the effects of the Soberanes fire on income before the road collapsed and how much more difficult it will be for businesses and their employees to recover with this extended road closure. I also called to ask about the inspection of the Nacimiento bridge. We both expressed our concern with the bridge being the only way out of Big Sur for the more than 800 locals who live and work here. Colin and Tim expressed their understanding for our concern and assured us that the bridge could handle the construction traffic. They also informed the public about the CalTrans QuickMap app which I now have installed on my phone. Yesterday the information about the road closures on Highway 1 were in line with the official postings. I just checked the current posted road closures marked at Ragged Point, Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide. The notifications were updated tonight at 9:03pm and report that all of those closures are expected to be open at 6:01pm June 30, 2017!!! How I wish that were true! I think the person in charge of updating QuickMap goofed big time! Colin and Tim announced yesterday that they expected it to take at least a year to reopen Mud Creek. They also said that Paul’s Slide may not reopen until mid July. Perhaps they only intended to announce moving the road block at Ragged Point farther north to allow the public to access Salmon Creek?
I’ve been thinking the same thing, Lindsay. Once they get Paul’s Slide stable and the PCB done, it will be travelers coming down from the north and going east on Naci and travelers from the south will take Naci west and head north on the 1. I hate to think of all the accidents, drive offs, slough offs of the road and soon Naci will be closed for repairs for months! The sign at the top of the mountain at Cone Peak road, South Ridge road and Naci is still up stating that the road is closed to locals only, but of course, it’s being used by tourists that just drive right on by it!