Highway Closure Update, 9/18/17

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Monday, Sept. 18:

Highway 1 in Monterey County continues to provide 35 total miles of Hwy. 1 to the public from south of Gorda (PM 10) to just south of Pfeiffer Canyon (PM 45.5), accessible only via Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. State Route 1 remains closed from north of Salmon (just south of the Ranger Station (PM 3) to just south of Gorda (PM 10) due to the Mud Creek event. State Route 1 south of Salmon Creek is accessible via State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County, past Ragged Point to Salmon Creek.

REMINDER: Travelers CANNOT travel the entire length of Highway 1 but local businesses are open on both sides of the closure points at Pfeiffer Canyon and Salmon Creek.

Mud Creek (PM 8.9)
Mud Creek had a major slide on Saturday, May 20, 2017, losing 5 million cubic yards of material. Caltrans continues with its plan to realign the existing terrain. The projected timeline to safely open to public traffic is late-summer 2018 at an estimated cost of $40 million.

There is currently no public access through the Mud Creek area since this remains an active construction zone.

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)
Paul’s Slide is still active but the 24/7 one-way reversing traffic control with flaggers has been replaced by a traffic signal and temporary guardrail (k-rail) in the centerline.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge [PCB] (PM 45.52)
The bridge construction continues with diaphragm concrete pouring and prep work continues for the bridge deck pour this Friday night, Sept. 22. NOTE: Daytime work will be light on Friday during daytime hours as the concrete pour will take place overnight—there will be noise all night into Saturday, Sept. 23. The opening of the new bridge is scheduled in mid-October.

Mud Creek, Photos by Madonna Construction

Paul’s Slide. One can see the water still flowing and the cracks in the hill. I drove through this Friday, and it was still moving. Pebbles were falling and a spotter was watching. The k-rail was not up, nor were the signals referenced above – still flaggers. If any of my shots came out, I will post tomorrow, shot through the windshield as I was driving.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge. Rock Knocker noticed that none of the rebar was epoxied, as was done on the land bridge at Pitkin’s Curve, to protect it from corrosion. I asked Kyle Evans to check as to why that was not done. This is what he was told:

“Epoxy coated rebar is what we call it. We are not using any on this bridge. There is no immediate threat of corrosion to the rebar here. But looking several years ahead the concrete bridge deck will probably be treated with polyester resins that act as a long term sealant, frequently used by CalTrans to weatherproof concrete structures.”