This is the beginning of the article I wrote for Voices this week:
“Dave Nelson has had a front-row seat to all the action at Rat Creek — from the destruction of Highway 1 to its rebuilding.
He first contacted me on a Wednesday morning, Jan. 27, about what he was witnessing there. He had been in contact with Caltrans, and after our emailed conversations, I also contacted Caltrans by phone later that afternoon. One day later, he watched the highway slowly being eaten by the great equalizer — constant water flow.
For the rest of the article, visit: https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2021/03/05/reconstruction-at-rat-creek/
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Milkweed regrowth, photo by Gail Dinsmore.
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Great article! I also love our wild storms here on the north coast, road closures and all! So true about enjoying the peace and quiet for those of us lucky enough not to have to go out in the worst of it! Last night we had rip roarer blow through. Looks like the storm is moving north now. Have you ever run across windy.com? I love it's graphic of the storms as they come across the Pacific.
Be well and safe! 🥰
Thanks again, Kate (and Dave), for the great pix and piece. Can you verify or refute my observation that the lost section of US 1 was a fill embankment? When was it built? Is the replacement structure going to be fill? If so, what does "enhanced" mean?
This is what I sent Wayne, in case others are interested: It is going to be fill. It may have been before, but if it was, it was fill from the 30’s, which is when most of highway 1 was built. Perhaps this glossary will help you. It doesn’t specifically define “enhanced” fill, but it does address soil erodibility factors.
http://www.pacificwatershed.com/sites/default/files/11_-_glossary.pdf
What a great glossary of watershed terms! Kate, you are so accommodating. Clearly Wayne is a local and is suffering from impacts of the closure. I hope your information calms his mind and gives him more faith in CalTrans.
Thanks for the link and your excellent article. Good stuff. Plus, it cleared up my silly misconception that your last name is "Nova". Classy though that would be... 😇