“In the age of social media, where landscapes have become backdrops for ‘likes’, a broader understanding of the ecology at work behind beautiful scenery is often neglected, which is why visitors overlook the damage they are doing.
‘There is something missing there, in understanding that this is a natural ecosystem,’ Fraga said. ‘It’s not just the poppies – it is the pollinators, and the soil microbes, and a network of biological life that requires an ethic of care for nature.
‘It is not just for pulling likes and clicks and endorphins,’ she added. ‘If an educational voice can be a louder voice than the influencers, that could do a lot of good.’” https://apple.news/ACEzRDZ53QQa-RQizYQBa-w
Mary Wargo sent me this gorgeous photo. I will not be revealing any locations on any photos any more due to the nature of the IG, tiktok, youtube population, Just enjoy the photo and don’t try to find it.
Travelers on southbound Highway 1 at the Big Creek Vista Point will encounter signs indicating that the road farther south is closed except to travel by locals.
Assessments will continue next week to determine if the closure limit can be moved farther south and closer to the long-term closure at Paul’s Slide at PM 22.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
Southern Closure Moved Up to Ragged Point Wednesday Feb. 8
The southern closure of Hwy. 1, previously located 4 miles north of San Simeon at the elephant seal vista area, moved to Ragged Point as of 5 pm today. A full closure of Hwy. 1 will remain in effect between Ragged Point and Lime Creek at PM 32.
Highway 1 to Reopen from Ragged Point to Mill Creek by 5 pm on Sunday Feb. 12
Weather permitting, Hwy. 1 will reopen between Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County and Monterey County’s Mill Creek at PM 18, by 5 pm on Sunday Feb. 12. A turnaround area with ample room for all types of vehicles to maneuver, will be established at Pacific Valley at PM 16.
Highway 1 at Mill Creek Slide to Remain Closed for Six Weeks
The current estimate for the reopening of Hwy. 1 through the Mill Creek Slide area at PM 18 is six weeks. As work progresses, Caltrans will be looking for opportunities to allow for the passage of convoys through the work area at Mill Creek.
Traffic Control in Effect at Polar Star Slide
Work to install metal slope drapery and other erosion control measures, as well as repairs to the roadway at the Polar Star slide one mile south of Ragged Point, will result in long-term traffic control. Travelers will encounter one-way reversing traffic control seven days a week, from 7 am to 5 pm at Polar Star, with up to 30-minute delays, over the course of the next four weeks.
Traffic Control in Effect in Monterey County at Postmile 0.8
Repairs continue at PM 0.8 in Monterey County, about 3.5 miles north of Ragged Point. Travelers will encounter a temporary traffic signal that will provide one-way reversing traffic control at this location where storm damage has undermined parts of the southbound lane. The southbound lane will remain behind k-rail while a retaining wall is being constructed to support the southbound lane.
Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide Facing Long Term Closure
Assessments continue in response to the large magnitude landslide at Paul’s Slide at PM 22. As the scope of the damage and strategies for repair become clearer, an estimate will be made on when or if convoy travel through the area will be available. At present, the full road closure of Highway 1 through Paul’s Slide is expected to be long term. Updates will be provided as more precise information becomes available.
Highway 1 North of Paul’s Slide is Open to Travel by Locals
Highway 1 between the north gate at Paul’s Slide at PM 22 and the current closure at Lime Creek at PM 32 is open to travel by local residents. Travelers on southbound Highway 1 at Lime Creek will encounter signs indicating that the road is closed except for travel by locals.
Convoys Scheduled Between Ragged Point and Mill Creek on Friday Feb. 10
A series of convoys for local residents within the closure area between Ragged Point and Mill Creek are scheduled to take place on Friday Feb. 10.
Southbound convoys will depart from Mill Creek on Friday Feb. 10 at 8 am, 12 pm, and 4 pm.
Northbound convoys will depart from Ragged Point at 9 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm.
The simple version is that the southern closure will be moved to Ragged Point by 5 pm, 2/8/23. The northern closure remains at Lime Creek. Friday is still a caravan from Mill Creek to Ragged Point at 8, 12, 4. Sunday, 2/12 the southern closure will move to approximately the Pacific Valley area with the northern closure remaining at Lime Creek.
Crews have made good progress on slide removal and drainage restoration efforts at Polar Star, one mile south of Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County, following a major slide which took place on Jan. 4.
Highway 1 at Polar Star is scheduled to reopen to public traffic by 5 PM on Wednesday, February 8.
Convoys are still planned between Ragged Point and near Mill Creek Slide for Friday, February 10th. The convoys will depart from Mill Creek (PM 18) at 8 am and travel south to the closure limit at Ragged Point (PM 72) in San Luis Obispo County. The convoy will then turn around and head north back to the closure at Mill Creek.
The convoy will repeat this trip again, starting at Mill Creek at 12 pm and 4 pm.
From Ragged Point, locals will be able to enter the closure area around 9 am and 1 pm with the convoy to head north.
Residents are asked to wait at their driveways if they wish to join the convoy as it passes.
Again, this convoy will take place on Friday, Feb. 10 with starts at Mill Creek at 8 am, 12 noon, and 4 pm.
Highway 1 from Ragged Point to south of the Mill Creek Slide is scheduled to reopen to the public by the evening of Sunday Feb. 12, weather permitting.
Once Highway 1 at Ragged Point reopens to the public on Sunday Feb. 12, travelers will be able to travel north to PM 16 where the road closure will be.
Travelers can expect lane closures with reversing traffic control 7 days a week from 7 am to 5 pm. Travelers can expect delays up to 30 minutes over the next month to allow for slope drapery, erosion control, restoring and repairing damage to the roadway at Polar Star and other locations along the Coast.
A turnaround is anticipated to be established in the Pacific Valley area (PM 16) until Mill Creek is fully reopened.
The estimated time for the reopening of Highway 1 through Mill Creek is estimated at six weeks, weather permitting. As work progresses there in the coming weeks, Caltrans will be looking for opportunities to allow convoys through at Mill Creek.
Monterey County Postmile 0.8
Repairs continue at PM 0.8 in Monterey County where storm damage has undermined parts of the southbound lane. Once Highway 1 reopens at Polar Star on Wednesday, Feb. 8, a temporary traffic signal will support one-way reversing traffic control at this location. The southbound lane will remain behind k-rail while structural repairs are being performed.
Paul’s Slide PM 22
Drone imagery suggests that this winter’s storms created a large landslide within an even larger magnitude slide at PM 22.
The full road closure of Highway 1 through Paul’s Slide is expected to be long term. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
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.
Images are Google Earth “Historic Imagery” sequence. 2015 image was brightened and sharpened. Images obtained and shared by John Chesnut. Caltrans says it is.
Here is the grading code violation:
The parcel at the Polar Star slide. ( SLO County assessor 011-021-016) has a paper trail on grading violation that was subject to a remediation permit and paper trail.
Select the parcel on the map, Click “additional details” in the Parcel info pop-up.
The Code Enforcement details are generally not visible, but the correction permit is public record (and provides inferences about the code enforcement), which is interesting, and not the “Grading As Built” record records the slide that closed the Highway.
There is a sink hole of the south bound lane in front of Caltrans. Today they are investigating the source of the problem, or why it is sinking, and then tomorrow, they will start working on correcting it.
I have circled the sink hole. One can see the edge of the road on the left.
“Highway 1 is the lifeline for our community and the road that services both tourists and residents alike. It is also the road that most residential enclaves count on for access to town. A slide on one end or the other makes access difficult; slides on both sides makes it impossible. And that’s the situation we are facing after the January storms.”
One can find the rest of this article I wrote for Voices of Monterey Bay here:
