Date:	Monday, March 20, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Alexa Bertola
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #35

LANE OPENED THROUGH SLIDE ON HIGHWAY 1 

FOR EVACUATION PURPOSES

SOUTH OF TORRE CANYON BRIDGE

MONTEREY COUNTY – Crews have been able to create a one-lane opening for evacuation purposes on Highway 1 at a slide just south of the Torre Canyon Bridge, at PM 39.5.

Evacuation is now possible for residents and guests who have been isolated south of the slide.

Storm events starting tonight are likely to close this evacuation access because of the significant rains expected. Once the storms have passed, field efforts will continue to remove slide material and open the road for local residents and the public.

Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast remains closed between Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County and Deetjen’s Inn in Monterey County at PM 42.2, due to slides and washouts from ongoing winter storm events.

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.

*credit to my Watch Duty friend and colleague Sekhar Padmanabhan for this question.

Today is the first day of Spring. Generally, I have done something specific regarding my favorite day of the year, but this year, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature.

Nonetheless, I want to remind myself that Spring will come…the sun will shine…the days will get longer. Here are some native flowers to remind us of what we have to look forward to.