THIS AFTERNOON’S BRIDGE INSPECTION SHOWED EVEN MORE MOVEMENT AND GROWTH IN FRACTURES, FOR THE SAKE OF LOCALS, VEHICLE/PEDESTRIAN ACCESS WILL BE ALLOWED THROUGH ONE LAST TIME, FROM 2PM TO 5PM. THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME PEDESTRIANS, VEHICLES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES WILL BE ALLOWED ACROSS BRIDGE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE NEXT BRIDGE ASSESSMENT WILL BE MADE AFTER THE RAIN, ON TUESDAY, FEB. 21.

VEHICLES MAY BE ALLOWED TO CROSS PFEIFFER CYN BRIDGE, ONE VEHICLE AT A TIME, ESCORTED BY CHP, FROM EITHER DIRECTION FOR THE LAST SESSION: 2 PM TO 5 PM. THERE IS A 20-TON LIMIT. PEDESTRIAN AND EMERGENCY SERVICES ACCESS ALSO CEASES AT 5 PM. NOTE: THESE PROVISIONS ARE FOR CRITICAL AND NECESSARY TRIPS, ON THIS DAY ONLY.

*NEW IMPORTANT INFORMATION—MORNING ACCESS ALLOWED, AFTERNOON ACCESS PENDING BRIDGE INSPECTION AT 12 PM *

THIS MORNING’S BRIDGE INSPECTION SHOWED MOVEMENT AND GROWTH IN FRACTURES, BUT VEHICLE/PEDESTRIAN ACCESS WILL BE ALLOWED THIS MORNING. HOWEVER, ANOTHER BRIDGE INSPECTION WILL TAKE PLACE AT 12 NOON—THE AFTERNOON SESSION (2-5PM) WILL DEPEND ON THE FINDINGS…ANOTHER UPDATE WILL BE PROVIDED BY 1 PM TODAY.

VEHICLES MAY BE ALLOWED TO CROSS PFEIFFER CYN BRIDGE, ONE VEHICLE AT A TIME, ESCORTED BY CHP, FROM EITHER DIRECTION FOR TWO SESSIONS: 1) 10 AM TO 1 PM AND 2) 2 PM TO 5 PM. THERE IS A 20 TON LIMIT. PEDESTRIAN ACCESS WILL ALSO CONTINUE. THIS IS SOLELY DEPENDENT UPON THE RESULTS OF THE BRIDGE SURVEY/ASSESSMENT TO TAKE PLACE AT 9 AM ON WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15…EXPECT THE ‘GO AHEAD’ OR ‘CEASE OPERATIONS’ UPDATE AT 9:30 AM TOMORROW.* NOTE: THESE PROVISIONS ARE FOR CRITICAL AND NECESSARY TRIPS, ON THIS DAY ONLY.

State Route 1 continues to be closed between Ragged Pt. (SLO 72.87)
and Pfeiffer Cyn Bridge(PM 45.5).

Motorists may travel north on State Route 1 from Cambria to Ragged
Point (SLO PM 72.87) or south from Carmel to Pfeiffer Cyn. Bridge (PM
45.5)

The roadway is not passable between Ragged Pt (SLO 72.87) and Dolan
Pt (PM 29.70) or to vehicles at Pfeiffer Cyn. Bridge (PM 45.5)

*AN ADDITIONAL SLIDE OCCURRED THIS MORNING SOUTH OF LIMEKILN (PM 20)…LOCALS MAY TRAVEL BETWEEN RAGGED PT. AND NACIMIENTO FERGUSSON (PM 18.90)—WHICH WILL CLOSE AT 5 PM.

*IMPORTANT NOTE TO LOCALS: ANOTHER STORM IS ANTICIPATED THIS THURSDAY, FEB. 16. DUE TO SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, PFEIFFER CANYON BRIDGE WILL FULLY CLOSE, INCLUDING TO PEDESTRIAN ACCESS, FOR THE DURATION OF THE RAIN.

*BUSINESSES REMAIN OPEN*

Another update will be provided AT 1 PM TODAY, Wednesday, February 15.

Susana Z. Cruz nature-flower-blue-motif[1]
Caltrans District 5
Acting Manager
Public Information Office

Frankly, I don’t know who Paul H. Is, but he has been adding comments re the weather patterns and studying them, and I have come to believe he is either an amateur meterologist and/or a retired one. His predictions so far this winter have been incredibly accurate. This is his newest “take” on the situation we are all following so I share his latest with the rest of you from the comment section today:

“Hey Everyone and just another heads up that late today will be the beginning of a possible three week run of wet weather and the storm intensity could really ramp up toward the end of February. What looks to be happening is the active belt of thunderstorms along the equatorial or inter tropical convergance zone (MJO oscillation) is now propagating eastward from the west pacific/maratime area and around late Feb/early March will be acting up right below Hawaii where these atmospheric river storms have found a very comfortable path during this winter This will fuel the moisture feed even deeper into the tropics with very high pwats or rain rates. Moreover El Nino is now forming quickly and should anchor the jet stream in a south west trajectory supportive of a positive “Pacific North America Pattern”. Presently, it looks very similar to 1995 (big floods in March that year) teleconnection and ocean atmospheric coupling wise and i would not be at all surprised to see much wetter storms toward the end of month similar to the January storms earlier in the year. This Winter could get much crazier very soon and do not put your guard down after this next week of rain!! Nevertheless, “Major” landslide(s) similar to the 1983 humongous slide is definately a possibility soon as soils have reached super saturation!! Im hoping that nothing that big slides!!
Cheers to El Nino taking control now, paul h”

These were taken by Michael Wilson back after the closure at 3.3 mm in two areas, one back around 4.8 mm and another one back further.

From CPOA:

Hello Everyone,

Following is an update from the Fire Brigade on U.S. mail delivery into and out of Big Sur.

Until further notice, there will be no U.S. mail delivery or pick up SOUTH of the Pfeiffer Bridge. The post office is closed for business, but any mail that may currently be in a PO Box may be picked up there.

Mail for those SOUTH of the bridge may now be picked up at the Monterey post office. Andrew and Eric will be based there and the post office phone (667-2305) will be forwarded and answered in Monterey.

If it is possible to get a van across the bridge tomorrow, packages currently in the post office will be moved to Monterey.

Normal mail deliveries will be made NORTH of the bridge.

Outgoing mail may be deposited in the blue mail box at River Inn (outside the general store) or may be placed in the outgoing mail slot at the bottom of Pfeiffer Ridge. Do not put any outgoing mail in the slot inside the post office or in the blue box at the post office.

There will be no pedestrian crossing on the bridge during periods of rain. Rain is forecast to begin Wednesday evening, so if you can, pick up whatever mail may be in the post office before then.

Every effort will be made to deliver mail on the South Coast depending on road conditions along Highway 1 and Nacimiento – Fergusson Road.

On another note, the Deli next to the post office will try to remain open as long as possible during the day for those who can walk there or drive from south of the Deli.

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You are receiving this email because you are a resident or friend of Big Sur.
Our mailing address is:
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PO Box 59Big Sur, California 93920

This is a notification from Alert Monterey County:
IMPORTANT NOTICE…You are receiving this notice as a member of the Big Sur coast community. The Pfeiffer Bridge will be open to PASSENGER VEHICLES tomorrow, Wednesday 2/15/2017, SUBJECT TO CAL TRANS APPROVAL, during two time windows for evacuation and resupply purposes. Affected citizens can utilize the bridge between the hours of 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and again between 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. All persons needing to use the bridge for egress or ingress should schedule their trips during these time windows, TOMORROW ONLY. The hard closure will resume after 5:00 pm until further notice from Cal Trans.

 

**NEW IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR TOMORROW, PENDING BRIDGE SURVEY RESULTS AT 9 AM ***

VEHICLES WILL BE ALLOWED TO CROSS PFEIFFER CYN BRIDGE, ONE VEHICLE AT A TIME, ESCORTED BY CHP, FROM EITHER DIRECTION FOR TWO SESSIONS: 1) 10 AM TO 1 PM AND 2) 2 PM TO 5 PM. THERE IS A 20 TON LIMIT. THIS IS SOLELY DEPENDANT UPON THE RESULTS OF THE BRIDGE SURVEY/ASSESSMENT TO TAKE PLACE AT 9 AM ON WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15…EXPECT THE ‘GO AHEAD’ OR ‘CEASE OPERATIONS’ UPDATE AT 9:30 AM TOMORROW.* NOTE: THESE PROVISIONS ARE ONLY FOR CRITICAL AND NECESSARY TRIPS.

State Route 1 continues to be closed between Ragged Pt. (SLO 72.87)
and Pfeiffer Cyn Bridge(PM 45.5).

Motorists may travel north on State Route 1 from Cambria to Ragged
Point (SLO PM 72.87) or south from Carmel to Pfeiffer Cyn. Bridge (PM
45.5)

The roadway is not passable between Ragged Pt (SLO 72.87) and Dolan
Pt (PM 29.70) or to vehicles at Pfeiffer Cyn. Bridge (PM 45.5)

*LOCALS MAY TRAVEL BETWEEN RAGGED PT AND LIMEKILN (PM 21.3) OR TRAVEL BETWEEN DOLAN and SOUTH of PFEIFFER CYN BRIDGE (PM 45.5).

*IMPORTANT NOTE TO LOCALS: ANOTHER STORM IS ANTICIPATED THIS THURSDAY, FEB. 16. IT IS UNKNOWN HOW THE BRIDGE WILL SUSTAIN ITSELF. PFEIFFER CANYON BRIDGE WILL FULLY CLOSE – INCLUDING TO PEDESTRIANS – FOR THE DURATION OF THE RAIN DUE TO SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.

*BUSINESSES REMAIN OPEN*

NEWS RELEASE
Los Padres National Forest
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Madsen (805) 961-5759
Twitter: @LosPadresNF
Nacimiento – Fergusson Road Closed
Due to Road Slide Safety Concerns

GOLETA, CA, February 14, 2017… Los Padres National Forest, in cooperation with Monterey County, today announced that Nacimiento-Fergusson Road will be closed to all traffic as of 5:00 pm Wednesday, February 15, 2017, due to road slide safety concerns. Road closure barriers will be installed at the junction of South Coast Ridge Road at Nacimiento Summit and at the junction with State Highway 1. Road repair of the damaged section of road is being planned for implementation as soon as possible; however, there is no known reopening time.

Nacimineto-Fergusson Road is the only pass through from Highway 1 to Highway 101 between Carmel Valley Road and Highway 46 in San Luis Obispo County.

The closure will prohibit motorized travel on Nacimiento-Fergusson Road between South Coast Ridge Road at Nacimiento Summit and State Highway 1. Those living to the east of the Summit can still use that portion of the road to access Highway 101. Forest Service Recreation Facilities at Sand Dollar, Plaskett and Kirk Creek Campgrounds will be closed pending re-opening of State Highway 1. Access to these recreation sites by Nacimiento-Fergusson Road will not be possible during the road closure.

The public is discouraged from using Forest Service roads on the Monterey District due to unstable road conditions caused by recent storms, and the current weather forecast for significant additional rainfall.

Visitors may call the Monterey Ranger District at (831) 385-5434 or the Multi Agency Facility at Big Sur at (831) 667-2315 with questions related to road status.

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More roads info, north, south, and east later today, but this am …