Regent’s Slide Update

Date:	Friday, August 15, 2025
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Celeste Morales or Kevin Drabinski
Phone:	(805) 549-3237 or (805) 549-3138

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #6

REPAIRS AT REGENT’S SLIDE ADVANCE AS

SLOPE STABILIZATION EFFORTS PROVE EFFECTIVE

MONTEREY COUNTY – Repairs at Regent’s Slide, which closed Highway 1 on February 9, 2024, continue to advance with slope stabilization efforts contributing to sustained excavation activity.

Full scale excavation work has continued at Regent’s Slide since mid-July with crews able to sustain production in part due to the effectiveness of the installation of thousands of shear dowels. Averaging 60 ft. in length, these steel bars are being drilled and grouted into the cut slope above the active work area. 

Data from an array of monitoring equipment has confirmed that the shear dowels are having the intended effect of mitigating further slide activity which has been a characteristic feature of repairs at Regent’s Slide. As the top-down excavation advances, crews will continue to install shear dowels in the cut slope behind them, providing immediate and long-term reinforcement of the slope. Since mid-July, crews have installed an additional 1,500 dowels, bringing the overall total number of installed shear dowels to 3,500.

Excavation work is advancing with the combined use of both conventional and remote-controlled equipment. The remote-controlled equipment, including two large bulldozers and one excavator, remain an integral component to the advancement of excavation and removal of slide material. Even as seasonal patchy coastal fog has intermittently cut into full production, crews continue to work seven days a week and extended hours on these repair efforts.

Caltrans remains in a position to announce a refreshed date for the full reopening of Highway 1 at Regent’s Slide in mid-September.

Big Sur Coast Remains Accessible and Open

Visitors can access more than 100 miles of Highway 1 between Cambria and Carmel, except for the 6.8-mile segment one mile south of the Esalen Institute to two miles north of Lucia.

Travelers from Northern California can still access historic bridges, waterfalls, restaurants, and lodging amenities along the Big Sur coast. Travelers from Southern California can reach the endearing communities of Lucia, Gorda, Treebones, Ragged Point, San Simeon, and Cambria via Highway 1.

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.

For more information about transportation projects and funding, visit: Build.ca.gov.

Our crews deserve to get home safely too.

Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.

CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov

Traveler information at: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

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Thousands of shear dowels have been grouted and drilled into the cut slope above the excavation work area providing immediate and long-term reinforcement of the slope.

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Kevin Drabinski

Public Information Officer

Caltrans District 5