The eye surgery was a success, the gas bubble is still with me, but getting smaller each day, and recovery is coming along. I got home despite the craziness of the slide on Wednesday, and having to go to Cambria to pick up my dogs’s meds from the vet there. I am going to take time off from the Monday coffee reads for a while as I am not doing well at keeping them in focus.
| Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. | |
| District: | 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties |
| Contact: | Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers |
| Phone: | (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1 ON BIG SUR COAST FULLY REOPENED
ROCKSLIDE CLEARED JUST NORTH OF MON/SLO COUNTY LINE
MONTEREY COUNTY – Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast is fully reopened.
Caltrans contractors and maintenance teams have cleared a rockslide on Highway 1 at Post Mile 0.25 in southern Monterey County.
Highway 1 is fully open to travelers who may now travel without interruption from Monterey/Carmel area to Cambria/Morro Bay along the Big Sur Coast.
Crews were able to dislodge an undermined rock outcrop the afternoon of Friday October 30. Crews took advantage of the remaining daylight hours on Friday and worked through Saturday October 30 to clear over 20 truckloads of dirt and rocks.
I am getting a LOT of inquiries about this road with the closure between Gorda and Ragged Point of Highway One. N-F is NOT open to the public at this time, and looks like it will be not be until Dec. of 2023. Here is the information I received from Mary Adams’s office:
“We recently made an inquiry with USFS about the status and received this information from Bradley King, Forest Engineer:
Federal Highways sent their surveyors and project engineers out to Nac-Ferg Rd to conduct preliminary assessments and collect additional detailed survey information on the damages. Currently, the estimated project schedule they have provided us is as follows:
Dec 2021: Project Start (funding dependent, begin design/planning work)
Aug 2022: 70% Design complete / Environmental Compliance complete
Nov 2022: 95% Design complete
Jan 2023: Final Design complete / prepare final contract documents
Mar 2023: Contract Award
May 2023: Construction Start (Notice to Proceed)
Nov 2023: Construction Complete
This schedule is dependent on funding.”
| Date: | Thursday, October 28, 2021 |
| District: | 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties |
| Contact: | Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers |
| Phone: | (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1 ON BIG SUR COAST CLOSED DUE TO ROCKSLIDE
JUST NORTH OF MON/SLO COUNTY LINE
MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans contractors and maintenance teams continue to respond to a rockslide incident on Highway 1 that was identified the morning of October 27. The location of the rockslide is just north of the county line, at Post Mile 0.25 in southern Monterey County, approximately two miles north of Ragged Point.
Maintenance and geotechnical teams have identified a large, undermined rock outcrop above the roadway that needs to be removed from the hillside, brought down to the roadway, and transported off site.
Soil has been transported to the site to build up an access ramp on the southern side of the rock outcrop. This will allow excavators to safely access and remove the rock outcrop from the side.
Once the rock is removed, crews will need to assess the slope to determine if any protective features need to be installed on or below the slope.
Work is taking place across both lanes of the roadway. Highway 1 is still not expected to reopen before Wednesday November 3.
Crews and equipment will continue to work 7-days a week during daylight hours as long as site conditions are safe for crews.
This rockslide has resulted in full closure of Highway 1 at Ragged Point, just north of the Ragged Point Inn, which remains open.
A full closure of southbound Highway 1 has been put in place at Gorda (PM 10).
Highway 1 remains open for local travel from Carmel to Gorda. Notification of the closure is in place at several locations along Highway 1.
Updates will be provided as details about progress on the project become available.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when
driving through highway work zones.
For traffic updates on other state highways in Monterey County, travelers may contact Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5
Excavator constructing access ramp to side of rock outcrop 10.28.21
###
Kevin Drabinski
Public Information Officer
Caltrans District 5
| Date: | Wednesday, October 27, 2021 |
| District: | 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties |
| Contact: | Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers |
| Phone: | (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1 CLOSED ON BIG SUR COAST JUST NORTH OF RAGGED POINT
MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans maintenance teams responded to a report of rockfall on Highway 1 this morning at Post Mile 0.25 in southern Monterey County, approximately two miles north of Ragged Point.
This rockfall has resulted in full closure of Highway 1 at Ragged Point, just north of the Ragged Point Inn, which remains open.
A full closure of southbound Highway 1 has been put in place at Gorda (PM 10).
Highway 1 remains open for local travel from Carmel to Gorda. Notification of the closure is being put in place at several locations along southbound Highway 1.
Maintenance and geotechnical teams are on site and continue with their assessments of the area. In addition to rockfall on the road, there is concern about unsupported rock on the slopes immediately above the roadway. It is expected that the work area for machinery and equipment to address these conditions will need to cover the entire roadway.
This morning, Caltrans entered into a new emergency contract for $500,000 with Papich Construction of Arroyo Grande to make necessary repairs. Crews and equipment have already been mobilized and work will occur 7-days a week during daylight hours as long as site conditions are safe for crews.
Early assessments indicate that Highway 1 may be closed for up to one week. Updates will be provided by close of business on Thursday, October 28, as more information becomes available.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when
driving through highway work zones.
For traffic updates on other state highways in Monterey County, travelers may contact Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5
###
Kevin Drabinski
Public Information Officer
Long conversation WITH Caltrans, definitely not opening before Friday. Badlu damaged hanging rock needs to be brought down and then once on the ground, blown up.
9 am local info indicates slide at Salmon Creek and highway fully blocked.
CALTRANS DISTRICT 5 SIGALERT
Wednesday October 27, 2021 at 8:10 am
Location
Highway 1 is closed in both directions from Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County to Fullers Point in Monterey County
Description of Incident
This section of Highway 1 is closed due to a rock slide.
Estimated Time of Opening
There is no estimate for re-opening Highway 1 at this time.
CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov
7:30 am — From Jim Shivers: “
The southbound lanes of Highway 1 near Grimes Canyon in the Big Sur area of Monterey County are closed due a rockslide. Caltrans is working to clear the roadway. There is no estimate for re-opening. The northbound lanes remain open. Drive safely.
@CaltransD5”
Highways just about everywhere are a mess. Dawn patrol started at 6 per Heath Johnston, but I would advise extreme caution.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the 2020 Dolan, River and Carmel Fire Burn Areas as well as the 2021 Willow Fire Burn Areas in Effect from Sunday afternoon through late Sunday night. The Flash Flood Watch includes a portion of northern California including the following areas, Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest with Lingering showers on Monday. You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings are issued. More Info: https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/a/a.php?i=62818668
“but also high risk of burn area flooding/debris flows“
From Daniel Swain’s Weather West blog (read the entire post here: weatherwest.com/archives/11466)
“In Northern California, it has been a good old rainy week. Many spots have seen a couple inches or more; nearly everywhere has seen at least enough for some modest puddles. In some areas, the amount of rain that has already fallen is probably enough to greatly attenuate or end fire season. “
“…one of the strongest October storms in some years (perhaps a decade or more in some NorCal locations) will likely occur on Sunday. This moisture delivery system will be in the form of a strong atmospheric river.”
“Stormy conditions are expected to begin early Sunday and ramp up through the day in NorCal. “
“Very intense rainfall rates of 1/2 to 1 inch per hour will be possible for a couple of hours“
