Caltrans and contracted crews have continued this week to make onsite assessments at two recent slides on Highway 1 in Monterey County on the Big Sur coast.
The first recent slide occurred Thursday Feb. 8 at Post Mile 29.5 and is known as the Dolan Point Slide. The second and larger slide took place on the evening of Friday Feb. 9 at Post Mile 27.8. and is referred to as the Regent Slide. These two slides are north of an existing closure due to repairs being made at Paul’s Slide at Post Mile 22.
Highway 1 remains open for travel from the Monterey/Carmel area to Post Mile 29.7, some 2.7 miles south of the Esalen Institute. Highway 1 is also open from the Cambria/San Simeon area to just south of Limekiln State Park at PM 20.
Repairs
Both the Dolan Point and Regent Slide occurred at locations where the roadway is adjacent to steep slopes on the inland side with a severe drop off on the ocean side. The Dolan Point Slide is still active. At the Regent Slide, water is running down the face of the slope. Repair designs are being formulated for both slides.
At each of these locations, undermined material that is perched on the slope above the roadway could release at any time, making for unsafe working conditions at the toe of the slide. Material will have to be removed from the top down. If rain brings down perched material, it may expedite this process. Additionally, site conditions may evolve during forecasted rain events over the next seven to ten days which may impact the date when crews can begin full-fledged repairs.
Once dry conditions return, it is estimated that it will take one month to stabilize the slope, clear debris, and reopen Highway 1 at the Dolan Point Slide. In the weeks following the reopening, crews will return to install protective drapery system on the slope above the roadway, under one-way traffic control.
There is no estimated date for a reopening of Highway 1 at the Regent Slide. Once assessments are complete and a repair design is formulated, an update will be provided regarding an estimated reopening date.
Convoys
Since Sunday Feb. 11, Caltrans has conducted twice a day convoys for residents living south of the Dolan Point and Regent Slides and north of Paul’s Slide. Convoys have traveled through Paul’s Slide in the north and southbound direction at 8 amand 3 pm each day. These convoys have been arranged so that local residents can travel south through Paul’s Slide to secure supplies now that travel to the north is blocked by the Dolan Point and Regent Slides. Because passage through Paul’s Slide is by way of a dirt roadbed, convoys can only be permitted when site conditions are in good order and safe for travel.
Due to rain which is forecasted in the area over the next several days, daily convoys will be cancelled from Saturday Feb. 17 through Thursday Feb. 22. After Thursday Feb. 22, the determination about whether convoy passage is possible will be made on a day-to-day basis based on weather and site conditions.
Dolan Point
Regent Slide
You can find more of her photographs here: https://dellahuff.smugmug.com/Big-Sur
Hello! This is a courtesy notification regarding the upcoming Big Sur International Marathon, which will take…
5 days ago, you may recall I reported on a dog that had been left…
Date:Thursday, April 16, 2026District:05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa…
This website uses cookies.
View Comments
We need a "like this" button for "don't like this." Arrgghhh!
For all materials, there's an angle of repose. But seriously, folks, this is a helluva rotten place for a road, much less a major highway.
I feel sorry for CalTrans' being asked to do the impossible (defy simple physics like gravity), including everybody that is physically exposed to the sites and not just flying a desk or political ads. Especially others who really believe that an acceptable level of risk can exist through engineering and project execution. (Please pardon my use of terms like "repose," and "execution." That's the English language for you.)
I SUSPECT that the angle of most of these sites is 1 1/2:1 or steeper. You "can" walk on such slopes, but it's not advised. When "you" cut into the slopes for a road/highway or other "improvement," you remove the buttressing effect the removed material may have on the upper slopes. There is no way that I know of to account for all of the variables involved in challenging gravity and guaranteeing that rocks, dirt, and vegetation will not come tumbling down when the sum of the impossible-to-measure multitude of factors of resistance drop below various factors/vectors of force present on a multitude of scales (failure sequence). As just about anyone intuitively understands, rocks are more resistant to falling apart than, say, "dirt clods." But context is everything. To lay back the slopes to a "safe" angle might require daylighting somewhere around, say, the other side of the mountain. Maybe just flip about half of the mountain involved into the sea, thus gaining a lot of real estate.
I would like to be corrected by someone(s) smarter than I. This ol' country boy cain't evun spel ingernear, and thinks physics are Rx's. Criticism don't bother me none!
classic
Thanks Stearling, always good to hear your take of common sence, I,m sure the overcast real estate company has it venture capitalist on alert, for the next shore side resorts