Slide update from Caltrans

CREWS RESPOND TO TWO ROCKSLIDES ON HIGHWAY 1

AS CONVOYS RESUME ACROSS PAUL’S SLIDE

MONTEREY COUNTY– Caltrans crews continue to respond to two recent slides on Highway 1 in Monterey County on the Big Sur coast.

Repairs

Crews have started repairs at the Dolan Point Slide which occurred on Thursday Feb. 8 at Post Mile 29.5. Concrete anchors have been set into the slope to facilitate the use of specialized spider excavators which are suited to operate in the steep terrain.

Initial plans to mobilize equipment from the south to make repairs at Dolan Point were changed after the Regent’s Slide closed the highway south of there on the evening of Friday Feb. 9. The repairs at Dolan Point are now being mobilized from the north.

Weather has caused some delays in the progress of repairs and may do so going forward. The current estimate for the reopening of Highway 1 at the Dolan Point Slide is March 8.

At the Regent’s Slide at PM 27.8, Geotechnical surveys are underway, and a recommended repair strategy is expected in the coming weeks. A more formal estimate for a reopening of Highway 1 at the Regent’s Slide will be available once the scope of the work is defined in greater detail.

The top of the Regent’s Slide is estimated to be approximately 450 ft. above the roadway. Assessments continue to indicate that, like the Dolan Point Slide, material will have to be removed from the top down. As with all Highway 1 repairs on the Big Sur coast, progress will be impacted by weather conditions. The recent slides have not changed the late spring estimate for a full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide.

The northern closure point on Highway 1 moved today from above Dolan Point to just north of Lime Creek at PM 32.1. The movement of the northern closure was necessary to create stockpiling space in support of repair work at Dolan Point. It is expected that the northern closure will remain at PM 32.1 until both the Dolan Point and Regent’s Slide have been cleared. The southern closure point remains at PM 20 just south of Limekiln State Park making for a 12.1-mile closure on the coast.

The balance of Highway 1 remains open for travel from the Monterey/Carmel area to just south of the Esalen Institute, and from the Cambria/San Simeon area to just south of Limekiln State Park.

Convoys

With the conclusion of the most recent rain system, daily convoys have resumed through Paul’s Slide in the north and southbound direction at 8 am and 4 pm. These convoys allow for local residents living south of the Regent’s Slide and north of Paul’s Slide to travel south through Paul’s Slide to secure supplies now that travel to the north is blocked by the Dolan Point and Regent’s Slides.  

Because passage through Paul’s Slide is by way of a dirt roadbed, convoys will continue as long as site conditions and weather make for safe travel.

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. 

This is the Dolan Point Slide at MM 29.5

This is the Regent Rlide at MM 27.8