Date:	Monday, December 5, 2022 at 1:45 pm
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Alexa Bertola or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #1

            HIGHWAY 1 NEAR BIG SUR REMAINS CLOSED WITH A SHORTENED PERIMETER

MONTEREY COUNTY – A roughly 2-mile stretch of Highway 1 remains closed from near the Big Creek Vista Point (PM 27.3) at the south end to near Dolan Point (PM 29.2) at the north end in Monterey County.

A more expansive road closure originally went into effect the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 3, following several rockslides and debris on the roadway during a rain event. The road was closed from 2.5 miles south of Big Sur at Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn (PM 42.1) to Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County. Maintenance teams worked on cleanup efforts while geotech engineers assessed various locations along the corridor.

The new, shortened closure limits were determined on Monday morning while crews continue to cleanup materials and fix a damaged rock barrier at Cow Cliffs (PM 28).

Message and directional signs are in place to alert travelers of the closure. Travelers will find that the majority of Highway 1 remains open besides this roughly 2-mile stretch. Depending on their destination, travelers can either take US 101 to Hwy 46 to Hwy 1 north thru Ragged Point to the closure at Big Creek Vista Pt. or take US 101 to Hwy. 68 to Hwy 1 south thru Big Sur to the closure at Dolan Point.

A full opening of Highway 1 is anticipated to occur by the end of the day on Thursday, Dec. 8, weather permitting.

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

Our crews deserve to get home safely too.

Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.

CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Traveler information at: https://www.quickmap@dot.ca.gov

                                                               | #BeWorkZoneAlert | Twitter | Facebook| YouTube |

###

Alexa Bertola

Public Information Officer 

Caltrans – District 5

Cell – 805.556.5820

Office – 805.549.3237

Alexa.Bertola@dot.ca.gov

SUNDAY UPDATE (9 am): #Hwy1 remains CLOSED in both directions from #RaggedPoint to south of #BigSur. Caltrans geo-tech engineers are assessing damage before cleanup. There is no estimated time of reopening. #Hwy1 is OPEN between #Carmel and Big Sur.

The first 3 photos are of Cow Cliffs, just north of Big Creek.

I can’t get there from here, at least today.

As of 5 pm tonight, Mining Ridge (up behind Big Creek) is almost up to 5 inches for the 24 hours ending at 5 pm.

Per chp:

Incident:

 00171 Type:

 CLOSURE of a Road Location:

 Sr1 N / Gorda Loc Desc:

 NB JSO Lat/Lon:

 35.842500 -121.401944 

Detail Information
1:01 PM	1	[1] PER SLO CHP- CALTRANS ADVZD SR1 WILL BE CLOSED NEAR CNTY LINE

This is also supported in
high res model hourly precip rates, which highlights the Santa
Lucias as receiving the highest rain rates of up to 0.5-0.6 inches
per hour between 8 am to 5 pm. Weather Prediction Center has also
highlighted the Central Coast south of Monterey Bay as an area
for marginal risk of excessive rainfall today. The aforementioned
forecasted hourly rates are below burn scar debris flow
thresholds, but will continue to monitor closely throughout the
day today. A slight risk for minor localized flooding exists
today, however, especially along HWY 1.

In total for the weekend, projected storm total rainfall
amounts have increased slightly for the Santa Lucias, which are
expected to receive anywhere from 2-5", with locally up to 5.5" at
highest peaks. 

It begins to come in from the south this evening, and then through the weekend, Heads up, and find a safe place to be.

Rainfall totals favor coastal mountains with the Santa Lucias of
Monterey Co on track to see the most rain from this system, with 2-5
inches expected through the weekend.

As of Saturday morning, new predictions are:

In total for the weekend, projected storm total rainfall
amounts have increased slightly for the Santa Lucias, which are
expected to receive anywhere from 2-5", with locally up to 5.5" at
highest peaks. NBM probabilities indicate a 60-70% chance of the
Santa Lucias getting more than 5 inches of rain through Sunday
evening. 

If this is true, it will be a first. Cal Trans hasn’t gone out after dark in 40 years I suspect it is an error, and earlier (around sunset) there was a post on the SLO Co chp that said ”rocks, dirt, and mud” at Ragged Point. (That has since disappeared) That is rarely the case. It is usually that the road is closed at Ragged Point due to rocks, mud, and dirt further up some where. BTW, that last entry re 27-S6 getting ahold of 27-12? That was on the SLO chp entry as well before it disappeared. If anyone can solve this mystery, I would love to know.

Apparently it is true. A local saw two plow trucks plowing at 7 pm. I hope no one gets hurt.

Incident:

 00289 Type:

 Traffic Hazard Location:

 Sr1 Loc Desc:

 SR1 AT RAGGED POINT Lat/Lon:

 35.781045 -121.329571 

Detail Information
8:03 PM	7	[24] A27-012 CALTARNS CREW F/WILLOW SRPINGS WILL HEAD NORTH TO ANDERSON TO CYN NB LN [Shared]
7:38 PM	6	[21] A27-012 NB 1 JSO LIME KILN A FEW BEACH BALLS SIZE OF ROCKS IN RDWY [Shared]
7:27 PM	5	[20] [CHP] has closed their incident [221201SL00133]
7:18 PM	4	[18] CONT SOUTH ADDITIONAL ROCKS IN RDWY [Shared]
7:17 PM	3	[17] 1124 AND 1126 VEH AND 1126 VEH HAS 3A ENRT [Shared]
7:17 PM	2	[16] AT LIME CREEK ROCKS IN THE RDWY [Shared]
6:20 PM	1	[12] 1039 27-S6 WILL GET A HOLD OF 27-12 [Shared]

This is what San Luis chip looked like around 5:30 or maybe 6.