Date:	Friday, August 30, 2024
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Genelle Padilla
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #7

INTERMITTENT DAYTIME DELAYS ON HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK

FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 1

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans will continue with emergency repairs to Highway 1 near the Rocky Creek Bridge, 12 miles south of Carmel. Caltrans previously stabilized and reinforced Highway 1 at this location after a March 30slipout resulted in a loss of a section of the southbound lane.

Upcoming Repair Schedule Update

For the week of Sunday September 1, daytime traffic control, customarily directed by a temporary signal, will be replaced with flagging crews from Tuesday September 3, thru Saturday September 6. These flagging operations are necessary to allow for the movement of trucks delivering equipment and materials for crews as they prepare for the next phase of construction efforts. Daytime flagging will be intermittent and on an as needed basis so that construction vehicles can move in and out of the work area situated behind concrete barriers. Travelers can expect intermittent daytime delays of 5 to 10 minutes.

There will be no overnight closures or delays the week of Sunday September 1, and travelers overnight will continue to enjoy access through the repair site driving on the northbound lane and directed by a temporary signal system. All Big Sur businesses and amenities remain open and accessible.

Customary Overnight Repair Schedule

Overnight work will customarily take place five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday night, and scheduled from 10 pm to 6 am. No overnight work will take place on Friday or Saturday nights.

The estimate for completion of the Rocky Creek viaduct is summer 2025 and is dependent on conditions encountered during construction. The contractor for this project is Gordon N. Ball, Inc. of Alamo, CA.

Highway 1 remains closed 40 miles south of Carmel due to the Regent’s Slide.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.

I may have posted these favorite photos of mine before, but it is really appropriate again today as the weather is in transition. We can have hot days and cold nights. Labor Day is next weekend, but school has already started back up. Fall is here.

Per Barbara Ray, who was kind enough to send me a report and a couple of photos (thank you), this is what is happening. These photos were taken Friday. Barbara talked to the new biologists Thursday and Friday.

“These sand bags are to divert the east branch of the river to join the west branch. The road is complete from the highway to the beach and the bridge is in.

They will stun the fish to move them.
They plan to remove the blocks and replace them with large boulders. 

Barbara”

Caltrans has all the necessary permits and they are good until the middle of October. They can get extensions, if necessary.

Date:	Friday, August 23, 2024
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Genelle Padilla
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #6

NO OVERNIGHT CLOSURES ON HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK

FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 25 THROUGH LABOR DAY WEEKEND

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans will continue with emergency repairs to Highway 1 near the Rocky Creek Bridge, 12 miles south of Carmel. Caltrans previously stabilized and reinforced Highway 1 at this location after a March 30slipout resulted in a loss of a section of the southbound lane.

Upcoming Repair Schedule Update

For the week of Sunday August 25, with the recent completion of overnight drilling work for construction of a shoring wall near the center line, travelers will not encounter any overnight closures or overnight delays on Highway 1 at Rocky Creek, from Sunday August 25 through the upcoming Labor Day Weekend.

Daytime repair work will take place in the Rocky Creek project area behind concrete barriers known as K-rail and should not result in any significant travel delays. Daytime travelers will continue to enjoy access through the repair site driving on the northbound lane and directed by a temporary signal system. All Big Sur businesses and amenities are open. 

Customary Overnight Repair Schedule

Overnight work will customarily take place five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday night, and scheduled from 10 pm to 6 am. No overnight work will take place on Friday or Saturday nights.

The estimate for completion of the Rocky Creek viaduct is summer 2025 and is dependent on conditions encountered during construction. The contractor for this project is Gordon N. Ball, Inc. of Alamo, CA.

Highway 1 remains closed 40 miles south of Carmel due to the Regent’s Slide.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.

Here is a news clipping Tzila sent me re the slides. There are a whole lot more clippings that I may or may not publish.

Keith Vandervere posted Jeff Norman’s journals of rain totals, observations and radio news in March of 1983 here: https://xasauantoday.com/2011/03/23/remembering-the-1983-big-sur-slides/ It is a fun little read.

Since we are on the subject of landslides, see the Highway Management Plan, 2001, for this listing and the history of Highway One here: https://www.cahighways.org/caltrans-resources/big-sur/history_road_closures.pdf or, if you just want the charts, here they are. The slides are arranged by mile post marker, starting at the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County line and proceeding northward, not by date or alphabetically by slide name, so it helps if you know where you want to look. It has been 23 years since this Highway Management Plan. Isn’t it time for a new one? (I think it is in process.)

This information was taken from the 2001 Big Sur Highway Management Plan. These are the chronology of road closures in Big Sur from 1935-2000. Tomorrow I will post a chart of closures from this same source that is a bit easier to follow, but has a lot less information. You can find this at: https://www.cahighways.org/caltrans-resources/big-sur/history_road_closures.pdf

CHRONOLOGY OF ROAD CLOSURES
Closure in 1935
Location: Twenty mile stretch beginning 40 miles south of Monterey, extending toward San Luis Obispo.18
Time of Year: October.
Cause of Closure: Threat of landslides.
Length of Closure: Unknown. Cost: Unknown.
Comment: This closure pre-dates the official opening of the Carmel-San Simeon Highway, but it is indicative of the fact that the alignment is historically unstable and susceptible to landslides.

*********************
Closure in 1938
Location: Unknown.
Time of Year: January-March.
Cause of Closure: Landslides from heavy rain. Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Comment: Severe storms in the winter of 1938 caused extensive damage to highways throughout the state. The Division of Highways’ California Highways and Public Works simply comments that the rains “…added many thousands of yards of slides on the Carmel-San Simeon road, State Route 56.” No other details were given.19
*******************

Closure in 1940
Location: Unknown.
Time of Year: February. Cause of Closure: Flooding. Length of Closure: Unknown. Cost: Unknown.
Comment: The Salinas Morning Post reported: “Other [Monterey County] roads also were reported open, with the exception of the Carmel-San Simeon route, which has been previously closed during the wet weather.”20

__________________
18 “Twenty Mile Section of San Simeon-Carmel Highway Not Open,” California Highways and Public Works (October 1935), 7.
19 T.H. Dennis, “Disastrous Winter Floods Caused $8,000,000 Damage to State Highways and Bridges,” California Highways and Public Works (April 1938), 1, 9.
20 “Roads Flooded After Rains,” Salinas Morning Post, February 2, 1940.

*****************
Closure in 1941
Location: All along the highway.
Time of Year: February and March. Cause of Closure: Rock and mudslide.21 Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Comment: Donald Harlan, former Caltrans Foreman and longtime resident of the Lucia area, recalls that this was one of the wettest winters he had ever experienced. Indeed, during the 1940-1941 season gauges at Cold Spring near Partington Ridge recorded 160 inches of rainfall, a record that would stand until the storms of 1983. Road closures due to slides and slipouts occurred all along the new highway, prompting some state officials to contemplate abandoning the highway altogether.22

********************
Closure in 1952
Location: “Big Slide” (approximately one mile south of Lucia), Monterey County Milepost 20.0.”23 [Ed note this is the location of what is now called Paul’s Slide. Blue Slide/Big Sur was where Paul was working when he tipped his dozer up and on to its blade.]
Time of Year: August 14.
Cause of Closure: Slide, resulting from earthquake disturbance.
Length of Closure: Six weeks. Cost: Unknown.
Comment: This is one of the better-documented early closures and also one of the more unusual, in that the closure occurred in the summertime and was the result of an earthquake, rather than fire or rain. This remained an active slide area for years following the earthquake.24

*********************
Closure in 1955
Location: All along the highway. Specifics mentioned: San Carpojo (Carpoforo) Bridge; White Creek Bridge (Duck Pond); Mill Creek Bridge; major slide at Redwood Canyon (see photograph below).”25
Time of Year: December.
Cause of Closure: Washouts from flood damage.
Length of Closure: Eight months (reopened August 1956).26 Cost: Estimated at $312,000.

__________
21 T.H. Dennis, “$2,500,000 Storm Damage to Highways in February and March,” California Highways and Public Works (April 1941), 11-12.
22 Interview with Donald Harlan, May 29, 2001; Letter report from the Big Sur Historical Society, July 20, 2001.
23 “Huge Slide on Sign Route 1 South of Lucia,” California Highways and Public Works (November-December 1952), 56; Interview with Donald Harlan.
24 Interview with Donald Harlan.
25 California Highways and Public Works (January-February, 1956), 16.
26 Reminiscences of Don Harlan, former highway maintenance worker and longtime resident of Big Sur.

**************************

Closure in 1958
Location: Road closed three miles south of San Luis Obispo-Monterey County line to Big Sur.27 Time of Year: March and April.
Cause of Closure: Landslide, resulting from flood damage.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.

***************************
Closure in 1963
Location: South of Big Sur, exact location unknown.28 Time of Year: January.
Cause of Closure: Slides due to flood damage. Length of Closure: Estimated two weeks.
Cost: Unknown.

_________________________
27 “Two Major Sierra Highways Blocked,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 1958.
28 “Peninsula Relaxes After Storm,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, February 2, 1963.
*****************************
Closure in 1965
Location: Near Cape San Martin, Monterey County Milepost 11.0 (approximate).29 Time of Year: January 17.
Cause of Closure: Mountain slide.
Length of Closure: Estimated 10 days.
Cost: Unknown.
Comment: The San Francisco Chronicle reporter noted: “Slides normally close the highway in this area every winter especially after heavy rains, because of the unstable nature of the mountains fronting the ocean.”

******************************
Closure in 1968
Location: Castro Canyon, Monterey County Milepost 43.0 (approximate).30 Time of Year: December 15-16.
Cause of Closure: Slides from flooding.
Length of Closure: Approximately one day.
Cost: Unknown.

******************************
Closures in 1969
A series of winter storms battered the Northern California coastline over a three-month period, causing numerous slides south of Big Sur.31
Location: Various locations south of Big Sur. The road was closed between Big Sur and San Simeon.
Time of Year: January-March. The road was first closed on January 19.
Cause of Closure: Rock and mudslides due to flooding.
Length of Closure: Approximately three months. In mid-March the State Division of Highways estimated reopening the road the following week.
Cost: Unknown.

************************
Closure in 1970
Location: Salmon Creek, Monterey County Milepost 2.2.32 Time of Year: September 27.
Cause of Closure: Forest fire (“Buckeye Fire”).
Length of Closure: Less than one day.
Cost: Unknown.

___________________________
29 “Slide Shuts No. 1 South of Big Sur,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 18, 1965.
30 “Rain, Wind Gusts Pelt Peninsula,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, December 16, 1968.
31 “Heavy Peninsula Rain,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, January 20, 1969; “Highway 1 Still Blocked In South
County,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, March 13, 1969.
32 “South Coast Fire Raging,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, September 28, 1970.
***********************
Closures in 1972
Comment: This was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of the region because of losses to property. A large fire in August was followed by heavy, early rains resulting in devastating mudslides in Big Sur.
Location: Near Andrew Molera State Park, Monterey County Milepost 52.0.33 Time of Year: August 1-6.
Cause of Closure: Forest fire (“Molera Fire”).
Length of Closure: Highway closed and reopened several times during the week. Cost: Unknown.
Location: Big Sur Village, Monterey County Milepost 48.5 (approximate).34 Time of Year: October 14.
Cause of Closure: Mudslide.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Big Sur Village (called the “Molera Slide”), Monterey County Milepost 48.5

Time of Year: November 15.35
Cause of Closure: Mudslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown. Cost: Unknown.

________________________
33 “Big Sur Blaze Spreads to Forest,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 1972; “Big Sur Fire – Still Out of Control,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 4, 1972; Jim Krenkel Interview.
34 “Storm, Mud Slide Devastate Big Sur,” San Francisco Examiner, October 15, 1972.
35 “Slides Smash Big Sur,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 1972; “Fire + Rain = Mudflows: Big Sur, 1972,” California Geology (June 1973).
*************************

Closures in 1973.
Location: Lafler Canyon, Monterey County Milepost 40.7.36 Time of Year: February 11.
Cause of Closure: Rock and mudslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: $479,000.37
See photograph below.
Comment: Bob Huss, Caltrans maintenance worker, died when his skip loader plunged into the ocean at Lafler Canyon.

_______________
36 “Boulders Bury Victim at Big Sur,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 1973.
37 Caltrans, “Completed Contracts – July 1, 1973 to June 30, 1974,” State Highway Program Financial Statements & Statistical Reports (1974), 62.

Location: Limekiln Creek, Monterey County Milepost 21.0.38 Time of Year: March.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.

*******************
Closures in 1974
Location: Near Redwood Gulch, Monterey County Milepost 5.0.39 Time of Year: January 6.
Cause of Closure: Mudslide.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Vicente Creek, Monterey County Milepost 25.9.40 Time of Year: April.
Cause of Closure: Slides due to heavy rain.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.

_____________________
38 Kenneth Wright, “Chronology of Highway One Road Closures and Issues, 1970 to 2000,” compiled from personal recollections, 2000.
39 “Storm End Near, Forecasters Say,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, January 7, 1974.
40 Recollections of Kenneth Wright.
**************************
Closures in 1978
In August 1977 the Marble Cone Fire blazed through the wilderness near Big Sur. This fire did not close Highway 1; however, between January and April 1978 heavy rains caused numerous road-closing mudslides in areas weakened by the fire.
Location: Near Partington Point, Monterey County Milepost 38.0 (approximate).41 Time of Year: January.
Cause of Closure: Mudslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Various locations.
Time of Year: February.
Cause of Closure: Flooding and slides. Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Comment: About the February mudslides, Caltrans wrote, “All the measures taken this fall to minimize potential runoff problems [in the Big Sur area] after the Marble Cone fire seem to be working. Our problems on Highway 1 have been more serious, however, in other areas. It seems like every location, where we have had trouble in the past, has acted up again. The slides slid, the slipouts slipped and the sinks sank. We’ve been lucky to generally maintain at least one lane open in many locations.”42

****************************
Closure in 1982
Location: Near Redwood Gulch, Monterey County Milepost 5.0 (approximate).43 Time of Year: January.
Cause of Closure: Numerous small landslides.
Length of Closure: Approximately one month.
Cost: Unknown.

*********************
Closures in 1983
A series of storms in the winter of 1983 caused four major road-closing slides between January and April. The March slide north of Big Sur closed the road between Big Sur and Monterey for approximately two months. Another major March slide, occurring south of Big Sur near Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, was at the time the largest slide to affect a state highway; it took over a year to completely clear that slide and reopen the road between Big Sur and San Simeon.44
Location: Limekiln Creek, Monterey County Milepost 21.0.45 Time of Year: January 23.
Cause of Closure: Landslide and rockslide.

_________________________
41 Caltrans District 5, Cinco Lineas, January 23, 1978.
42 Caltrans District 5, Cinco Lineas, March 1, 1978.
43 “Storm Topples Trees, Power Lines,” Monterey Peninsula Herald, January 5, 1982.
44 Caltrans, “Highway 1 Slide Update,” District 5 Coastline, September 1983.
45 “A Heavy Storm Hits Bay Area,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 24, 1983; Herb Filipponi, Caltrans District Maintenance Engineer, “Memorandum: Highway 1 Closures,” January 25, 1988.
Length of Closure: Four days. Cost: Unknown.
Location: “Cow Cliffs” (near Big Creek), Monterey County Milepost 29.0 (approximate).46 Time of Year: January 29.
Cause of Closure: Landslide and rockslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Sycamore Draw, Monterey County Milepost 39.29. Time of Year: January.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Approximately eight months.
Cost: Unknown.
Comment: This slide and the Pfeiffer Burns Slide (see below) effectively trapped the residents of Partington Ridge for several months. In April 1983, this slide claimed the life of Ernest “Skinner” Pierce, a heavy equipment operator from Morro Bay, when he and his grader were hit by a mudslide.
Location: North of Point Sur, Monterey County Milepost 56.6 (approximate).47 See photograph below.
Time of Year: March.
Cause of Closure: Mudslides and washouts.
Length of Closure: Approximately two months. Cost: Unknown.
Location: Near the entrance of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Monterey County Milepost 36.0.48
Time of Year: March
Cause of Closure: Mudslides.
Length of Closure: The road south of Big Sur was reopened to local traffic over one year later on March 21, 1984; it officially reopened to through traffic on April 11, 1984.
Cost: Approximately $10 million.

___________________________
46 “Slide Closes Highway 1,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 31, 1983.
47 “Storms Ease Up – State Toll May Hit $200 Million,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 1983; “The Big Sur Slide,” Monterey Life, March 1984; “For Big Sur Residents, the Road Goes Somewhere,” Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1984. 48 “Storms Ease Up – State Toll May Hit $200 Million,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 1983; “The Big Sur Slide,” Monterey Life, March 1984; “For Big Sur Residents, the Road Goes Somewhere,” Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1984.
********************************
Closures in 1985
Location: Limekiln Creek, Monterey County Milepost 21.3.49 Time of Year: February 8.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Two days.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: San Luis Obispo-Monterey county line to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.50 Time of Year: July.
Cause of Closure: “Rat Creek” and “Gorda” forest fires.
Length of Closure: Twelve days: closed July 7 and reopened July 20.
Cost: Unknown.

***************************
Closures in 1986
Location: Captain Cooper School, north of Big Sur, Monterey County Milepost 49.0.51 Time of Year: February.
Cause of Closure: Mudslide.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Wing Gulch (near Lucia), Monterey County Milepost 29.5.52 Time of Year: February.
Cause of Closure: Road slip-out due to flooding.
Length of Closure: Five days.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Redwood Gulch, Monterey County Milepost 5.7.53
Time of Year: March.
Cause of Closure: Landslides.
Length of Closure: 68 days (closed March 17, reopened May 23).54 Cost: Unknown.
Comment: The slide at Redwood Gulch covered about 300 feet of the highway, and closed the road from Ragged Point to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.55

______________________________
49 Herb Filipponi, Caltrans District Maintenance Engineer, “Memorandum: Highway 1 Closures,” January 25, 1988; Telephone interview with Jim Krenkel, Caltrans District 5 Maintenance Lead Worker, May 29, 2001.
50 “Fires Consume 154 Houses, 230,000 Acres Across the State,” San Jose Mercury News, July 9, 1985; “Crews Halt Blaze’s Advance on Big Sur,” San Jose Mercury News, July 11, 1985.
51 “Big Sur Digging Out After Slides Cut Off Highway 1 Traffic,” San Jose Mercury News, February 20, 1986.
52 “Big Sur Digging Out After Slides Cut Off Highway 1 Traffic,” San Jose Mercury News, February 20, 1986; Herb Filipponi, Caltrans District Maintenance Engineer, “Memorandum: Highway 1 Closures,” January 25, 1988; Jim Krenkel Interview.
53 “Highway 1 Blocked: Closing by Big Sur Could Last Months,” San Jose Mercury News, March 22, 1986; Caltrans, “State Route 1 in Big Sur Closed,” CT Newsrelease (March 21, 1986), 1-2; Jim Krenkel Interview.
54 Herb Filipponi, Caltrans District Maintenance Engineer, “Memorandum: Highway 1 Closures,” January 25, 1988.
55 Caltrans, “State Route 1 in Big Sur Closed, CT Newsrelease (March 21, 1986), 1-2.
**********************

Closure in 1987
Location: Hot Springs Creek Bridge, Monterey County Milepost 32.70.56 Time of Year: February.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Three days.
Cost: Unknown

**********************
Closure in 1989
Location: Near Villa Creek, Monterey County Milepost 7.0.57 Time of Year: December 10, 1989.
Cause of Closure: Rock on highway.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
________________
Closures in 1991
Location: Wheelbarrow Road, Monterey County Milepost 25.0 (approximate).58 Time of Year: March 27, 1991.
Cause of Closure: Preventative scaling of the hillside.
Length of Closure: Less than one day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Partington Cove, Monterey County Milepost 38.0 (approximate).59 Time of Year: March 28, 1991.
Cause of Closure: Preventative scaling of the hillside.
Length of Closure: Less than one day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Wheelbarrow Road, Monterey County Milepost 25.0 (approximate).60 Time of Year: September 17, 1991.
Cause of Closure: Rock fall on roadway.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: About 10 miles south of Big Sur to Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County.61 Time of Year: December 29.
Cause of Closure: Mudslides.
Length of Closure: Unknown.
Cost: Unknown.

____________________
56 Herb Filipponi, Caltrans District Maintenance Engineer, “Memorandum: Highway 1 Closures,” January 25, 1988; Jim Krenkel Interview.
57 Blasting Records of John Duffy, Caltrans District 5 Senior Engineering Geologist, 1989-present.
58 Daily Logs of John Duffy, Caltrans District 5 Senior Engineering Geologist, 1989-present.
59 John Duffy, Daily Logs.
60 John Duffy, Daily Logs.
61 “Third Straight Rainy Day Brings Traffic Problems,” San Jose Mercury News, December 30, 1991.

***********************

Closures in 1992
Location: South Forty, Hurricane Point, Monterey County Milepost 58.0.62 Time of Year: March 6, 1992.
Cause: Rock blocking the roadway.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Mud Creek, Monterey County Milepost 62.0.63 Time of Year: October 21, 1992.
Cause: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.

**********************
Closures in 1993
In January, two separate rockslides – occurring at the same location but on two separate occasions – closed Highway 1 near Lucia. This is the same place where a major rockslide closed the highway for over a year in 1983-1984.
Location: “Big Slide,” south of Lucia, Monterey County Milepost 20.4.64 Time of Year: January 3.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: Two days.65
Cost: Unknown.
Location: “Big Slide,” south of Lucia, Monterey County Milepost 20.4. Time of Year: January 14.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: Road closed intermittently through March.66
Cost: Unknown.

********************
Closure in 1994
Location: San Luis Obispo County Milepost 74.0.67 Time of Year: February 18, 1994.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: Several days.
Cost: Unknown.
See photograph below.
Comment: Kenneth Wright, retired California Highway Patrol officer, recollects that the road south of Lucia was closed intermittently during March and February.68

______________________
62 John Duffy, Blasting Records.
63 John Duffy, Daily Log.
64 “Rock Slide Closes Highway 1 Near Big Sur,” San Jose Mercury News, January 4, 1993.
65 “Crew Clears Slide Below Big Sur; Highway 1 Reopens,” San Jose Mercury News, January 6, 1993; John Duffy, Daily Log.
66 Recollections of Kenneth Wright, 2000.
67 John Duffy, Blasting Records.
68 Recollections of Kenneth Wright, 2000.

***********************

Closures in 1995
Location: Hot Springs Creek, Monterey County Milepost 32.7.69 Time of Year: March 10.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Approximately one week.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Carmel River Bridge, Monterey County Milepost 72.28.
Time of Year: March 12.
Cause of Closure: Bridge destroyed from flooding.
Length of Closure: Temporary one-lane bridge reopened bridge on March 17; permanent bridge restored in May 1995.70
Cost: Unknown.

_____________________
69 “Flood of ’95,” Salinas Californian, March 11, 1995.
70 “Little Rain But Little Relief: Monterey Becomes an Island,” San Jose Mercury News, March 13, 1995; “Coastal Tourism Takes a Hit: Will Visitors Return as Roads Reopen?” San Jose Mercury News, March 15, 1995; “Crop Loss Raising Produce Prices, But Travel Improves as Spans Hit by Flood Reopen on Highway 1,” San Jose Mercury News, March 17, 1995.

Closures in 1996
Location: At Wheelbarrow Road, Monterey County Milepost 25.0.71 Time of Year: February 18.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Approximately one week.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: At Wheelbarrow Road, Monterey County Milepost 24.9-25.0.72 Time of Year: February 26.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: Two to three days.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: Between Malpaso Creek and Pacific Valley (about 35 mile stretch).73 Time of Year: October 19.
Cause of Closure: Forest fire (called the “Sur Fire”).
Length of Closure: One day.74
Cost: Unknown.
Location: “Old Faithful,” Monterey County Milepost 40.1. Time of Year: December 12.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: One day.
Cost: Unknown.
Location: “Big Slide,” south of Lucia, Monterey County Milepost 20.4.75 below.
Time of Year: December 15, 1996.
Cause of Closure: Rockslide.
Length of Closure: One or two days. Cost: Unknown.
See photograph
Comment: About the December 15 slide, Caltrans engineers wrote, “The bulk of the approximate 50 cubic yard slide was removed by maintenance forces.” Rock needed to be blasted and removed in order to finish the job on the same or the next day.76
71 John Duffy, Daily Log.
72 John Duffy, Daily Log.
73 “Big Sur Fire Shuts Two Parks, Highway 1,” San Jose Mercury News, October 20, 1996.
74 “Visitors Back at Big Sur as Firefighters Gain on Wind-fed Blaze,” San Jose Mercury News, October 21, 1996; “Road Reopened as Big Sur Fire Is Kept at Bay,” Los Angeles Times, October 21, 1996.
75 John Duffy, Blasting Records.
76 John Duffy, Blasting Records.
*********************
Closures in 1997

Location: Gorda, Monterey County Milepost 10.1.77

Time of Year: January 2.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: One month (road reopened on February 3).
Cost: A $5.5 million project to permanently repair the highway was completed in October.

_____________________
77 Caltrans, Caltrans Annual Report: Weathering the Storm (1997-1998), 36; John Duffy, Daily Log; Jim Krenkel Interview.

Location: Limekiln Creek, Monterey County Milepost 21.4.78
Time of Year: September 14.
Cause of Closure: Preventative scaling operations.
Length of Closure: Road was closed intermittently over the course of five days. Cost: Unknown.

***************************
Closures in 1998
The El Niño storms of January-February 1998 caused the most damage to the Carmel-San Simeon road in its history. In all, about 40 different sections of the highway were closed due to flooding and landslides. It was this series of slides that prompted the undertaking of the Big Sur Coast Highway Management Plan.
Locations: Road closed at approximately 40 locations. Some of the named points of closure are: Duck Pond (two miles south of Gorda); Wing Gulch; Soberanes Point; north of the Granite Canyon Bridge; Old Coast Road; Hurricane Point; and “Grandpa’s Elbow”.79
Time of Year: January-February.
Cause of Closures: Mudslides and slip-outs from flooding.

_______________________
78 John Duffy, Daily Log.
79 “A Broken Lifeline: Highway 1 Slides Isolate Big Sur, Block Vital Tourism,” San Jose Mercury News, February 12, 1998; “The El Nino-ravaged Northern Section of State Highway 1,” Caltrans Update (April 6, 1998); “Sur Coast Photo Ops,” http://www.surcoast.com.

Length of Closure: Approximately three months. The first closures occurred on February 2; the final section of road at Duck Pond was reopened on May 21, reestablishing the link between San Simeon and Carmel. Roadwork continued until October.80
Cost: $32 million for all projects along the 70-mile stretch.81
Closure in 1999
Mudslide at Grandpa’s Elbow, 1998
(Photograph courtesy James Kimball, http://www.surcoast.com)
Location: Hurricane Point, Monterey County Milepost 58.0 – 59.0 (approximate).82 Time of Year: Last week of March or first week of April.
Cause of Closure: Landslide.
Length of Closure: Approximately three months.
Cost: Unknown.
80 Recollections of Kenneth Wright.
81 Caltrans, Caltrans Annual Report: Ramping Up for the Millennium (1998-1999). 82 John Duffy, Daily Log; recollections of Kenneth Wright.
********************
Closures in 2000
Location: Limekiln Creek (“Pitkin’s Curve”), Monterey County Milepost 21.0.83 below.
Time of Year: February 14.
Cause of Closure: Landslide resulting from storm damage.
Length of Closure: Three and a half months (reopened in May). Cost: Estimated $3 million.
Comment: A secondary landslide occurring during the repair of the February 14 slide on March 12 caused an additional $400,000 in damage.
Location: Big Creek, Monterey County Milepost 28.0.84 Time of Year: March 9.
Cause of Closure: Landslide resulting from storm damage. Length of Closure: Approximately one week.
Cost: Unknown.
_________________
83 Caltrans, California Department of Transportation Journal: 1999-2000 Annual Report Issue (July-September 2000).
84 Caltrans Memorandum, “Significant Issues or Actions for Week of March 20-26,” March 14, 2000; John Duffy, Daily Log.

Keeping with this week’s theme of Regent’s Slide on Highway One in Big Sur, here are a couple from Mark Readdie. Note the graffiti on the Big Creek sign. The second was taken 8/7/24:

Date:	Friday, August 16, 2024
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Genelle Padilla
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALTRANS HALTS EXCAVATION WORK AT REGENT’S SLIDE ON HIGHWAY 1

DUE TO SLIDE ACTIVITY

Much of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast remains accessible and open

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans today announced that it has temporarily halted excavation work on Highway 1 at Regent’s Slide due to continuing slide activity in and around the repair site. While much of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast remains accessible and open, Caltrans engineers are now assessing the slide area and gathering data to keep the public informed of the new timeline for reopening.

While excavating the slope with bulldozers earlier this month, crews noticed surface cracking at several points around the area being excavated, indicating additional slide activity. Caltrans mapped this cracking and determined that this new slide would likely continue to move and impact the ongoing work to reopen the roadway. For the safety of work crews, Caltrans halted excavation work. 

Highway 1 at Regent’s Slide has been closed since February 9, 2024, due to a slide that originated 450 feet above the roadway. The slide displaced material that engulfed the roadway and continued down to the beach and ocean below. While Caltrans has made progress toward reopening the roadway, repair efforts have been challenged by the height and steepness of the slope, which have required flexibility and frequent adjustments to repair strategies to ensure the safety of workers on site.

Although through travel on Highway 1 from Carmel to Cambria is not possible at this time, travel to the communities of Cambria, San Simeon, and all the amenities of the south coast continue to be within reach from Southern California, as do businesses and attractions on the coast south of the Monterey/Carmel area coming from Northern California.

Earlier this week, Caltrans installed three sensors where surface cracking was observed. Caltrans will collect data from these sensors over the next several weeks to determine the magnitude, rate, direction, depth, and type of movement involved. Engineers will evaluate data to determine if additional stabilization work is needed. Excavation work will resume once Caltrans confirms it is safe to do so.

A 6.8-mile segment of Highway 1 will remain closed while repairs continue. Regent’s Slide is located 45 miles south of Carmel at Post Mile (PM) 27.8. The southern turnaround point on Highway 1 is at PM 25.3, two miles north of Lucia. The northern turnaround point is located at Lime Creek at PM 32.1, just south of the Esalen Institute.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.