Big Sur

Nacimiento-Fergusson Road

This is on the East side, just down from the old Nacimiento USFS Fire Station. Photo provided by Tom Collins. That is the road being undermined by a slip out in the center of the photo. This slip out may not be any worse than what has been present since the Jan 2021 storms.

Karl, see comment below, suggested I make my response to him public due to the complexity of the jurisdiction here.

N-F road is USFS who then contracts with MoCo for maintenance. Maintenance is not the same as repair. There was a contract awarded to Papich to repair it after the Dolan Fire and following storm damage. That was set to begin by May and conclude by Dec of this year. Our Representative, Jimmy Panetta, is responsible for getting the money for these repairs. (It is federal road so everything takes a long time and is complicated.) Now we have new damage, which we are trying to get folded in, but good lord, the complications. Is this attributable to the Dolan Fire and the atmospheric rivers that followed, or is it attributable to January 2023’s atmospheric rivers? It is hard enough trying to understand the criteria the feds use, nevermind to explain it.

bigsurkate

Appointed appellate counsel for indigent defendants (retired.) I have lived in Big Sur since 1984, first on the north coast, and on the South Coast since 1989.

View Comments

  • yeah, I had a few of those 'off side slope failures' on my road too. big scallops of the hillside just liquefied and flowed downhill. in my area it wasn't about any 'accelerated runoff' ( ie culvert outflows or similar ), just plain old steep country full of lots of water.. so maintenance prolly wouldn't have had a hand in this in either direction.

    but golly, I miss the relief valve aspect of Nasty Ferg as I'm sure most everyone else down here does, sure do hope someone in an appropriate office can extract their digit and sign whatever paperwork is needed, and sooner than later. 'benign neglect' is expensive to recover from, it just adds up and confuses the easily distracted. I say that recognizing that many federal offices are understaffed and over-burdened, stretched thin maybe.

    is there anyone in particular whose ankles we can chew on to perhaps prompt some proactive function, please, Kate ?

  • Let’s hope Jim has some leftover clout from his father and can get Buttigieg on it. This is such a vital link!

  • Drove by there yesterday and saw it but didn't noticed that it was undermined. We made it though!!

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