FYI – Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project Pre-Construction Work is about to begin.

The Monterey County Resource Management Agency (RMA) – Public Works just announced that the construction of the Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project is about to begin.

The project will consist of widening northbound Highway 1 from
Rio Road to Carmel Valley Road to provide a truck climbing lane. The truck climbing lane will connect to the existing climbing lane north of Carmel Valley Road. Construction of the Climbing Lane Project will provide better access and reduce congestion in the area. The project duration is expected to last 75 working days, weather permitting.

Pre-construction activities such as utility relocation will take place prior to actual commencement of construction of the project. PG&E will begin moving a gas line on February 12, 2018 which should take approximately 2-3 days and will require minor traffic controls. The immediate area affected will be westbound Rio Road on the East side of Highway 1 near the Chevron station.

The project’s construction activities will require temporary traffic control measures to be implemented, including lane closures, during the course of construction.

RMA staff will make every effort to keep the community updated on the progress of the project as well as the impacts of the traffic controls and road closures. The Monterey County website,
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-i-z/resource-management-
agency/public-works/road-closures will contain up to date information regarding the project.

The Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project estimated construction cost of $7,575,220 is funded by various State, County and TAMC funds. Teichert Construction, from Sacramento, California, was awarded the construction contract for this project.

For more information, please contact Christine Poe, Management Analyst II at (831)755-5025.

Dear Community ,
On Sunday night 4 cars were broken into at the bottom of Partington Ridge. My Truck was one of them. They popped the back of my camper shell open. I had all my Fire,Rescue, Dog and Sheriff SAR gear in boxes in the back of my camper shell. They took a red backpack with gear and most importantly all of my uniforms from 3 different departments that I work and volunteer for. When I think about it, I can’t believe this is happening in our community. Then when I think bigger , I guess its our world.

I want to let these people know it is a FEDERAL offense to have uniforms from Law ,medical or fire that do not belong to them. I would like people far and wide to keep their eyes open for someone using my uniforms from Monterey Country Sheriff SAR , Monterey Bay Search dogs, and Big Sur fire.

If you know anything about the break ins at the bottom of Partington Ridge or anything about my gear or uniforms please call Monterey county Sheriff department.

Thank you and stay safe,
Jeannie Alexander

Conditions remain unchanged: Mud Creek still closed to locals and the public; Paul’s Slide is still active but open with one way traffic signal and K-rail; and PCB is getting all its finishing touches.

Photos 1 and 2 of Mud Creek (PM 8.9); photos 3 and 4 of Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6); photos 5 and 6 of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge “PCB” area (PM 45.52)—all photos taken last Friday, Jan. 26.

Fire restrictions lowered on Los Padres National Forest

GOLETA, Calif.— Rainfall amounts across Los Padres National Forest have provided sufficient moisture levels to reduce Forest fire restrictions on the forest from Level IV to Level I effective immediately.

Under the reduced fire restrictions, campfires and charcoal barbeques will be allowed in all areas of Los Padres National Forest. A California Campfire Permit, available free of charge, is required to build a campfire outside of a designated Campfire Use Site. A list of Campfire Use Sites and information about how to acquire a campfire permit is available at all Los Padres National Forest offices.

Visitors who construct wood or charcoal fires outside of designated Campfire Use Sites also must abide by the following rules:
· Clear all flammable material for a minimum of five feet in all directions;
· Have a shovel available for preparing and extinguishing the fire;
· Have a responsible person in attendance at all times;
· Extinguish the fire with water, using the “drown, stir and feel” method.

Prohibitions on smoking and target shooting in Los Padres National Forest are also being lifted.

The following fire restrictions will remain in effect:
· Spark arresters are required on all off-highway vehicles, chainsaws, and other internal combustion engines and equipment;
· A permit is required for all welding, grinding, cutting, or use of explosives;
· Tracer ammunition is prohibited at all times;
· Fireworks are prohibited in Los Padres National Forest at all times and in all places.

Forest visitors are encouraged to call the local Ranger Station for more information on conditions and restrictions.

Santa Barbara Ranger District – (805) 967-3481
Ojai Ranger District – (805) 646-4348
Mt. Pinos Ranger District – (661) 245-3731
Santa Lucia Ranger District – (805) 925-9538
Monterey Ranger District – (831) 385-5434

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Please make sure you have your permit for this years 2017-2018 season, you do need to fill out a permit for each season.

Also, after confirming it is a burn day by calling 800-225-2876, please remember to call the 667-2113 number if you wish to burn and leave your name, location of your burn and a call back number. Please advise your neighbors if you are burning and never leave your burn unattended.

Thank you,

Martha

12 destinations travelers might want to avoid in 2018
CNN

Tourism backlash has been in full affect over the last 12 months. Check out which 12 places you should avoid traveling to this year. Can we figure out how to add Big Sur?Read the full story CNN Story here

 

Photos of Mud Creek (PM 8.9), 1 and 2 show the installation of the 24-inch culvert at the southern end of the job; photo 3 shows work on the northern end.

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Monday, Jan. 8, 2018
State Route 1 in Monterey County remains closed from north of Salmon Creek, just south of the Ranger Station (PM 3) to just south of Gorda (PM 10) due to the Mud Creek slide. State Route 1 south of Salmon Creek is accessible via State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County near Ragged Point.

REMINDER: Travelers still CANNOT access the entire length of Highway 1 from Carmel to Cambria but local businesses are open on both sides of Mud Creek.

Mud Creek (PM 8.9)
Mud Creek had a major slide on Saturday, May 20, 2017, losing over 5 million cubic yards of material. Caltrans continues with its plan to realign the existing terrain with the projected timeline to safely open to public traffic is late-summer 2018 at an estimated cost of $40 million.

Last week, the contractor continued with north fill and the mud creek drainage, installing a 24-inch culvert at the southern end of the job. This week, the contractor continues working on the north fill at the northern flank of the slide, enhancing the revetment across the toe of the slide to increase the height of the rock, trucking, moving, and placing rock, and installation and fabrication of drainage features like welded HDPE pipe, concrete drainage inlets, etc. From a monitoring perspective, we continue to work with Surveys to remotely read prism positions on the landslide, manually measure movement using extensometers and distances between known positions, and making frequent visual observations.

There is currently no public/local access through the Mud Creek area since this remains an active, emergency construction zone.

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)
Paul’s Slide is still active but the 24/7 traffic signal remains in place and temporary guardrail (k-rail) in the centerline.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge [PCB] (PM 45.52)
1.) Final work continues for two additional weeks. Roadwork at Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge consists of alternating lane closures from 7 am to 4 pm Mondays through Thursdays and 7 am to 2 pm on Fridays until work is complete. Last week fog sealing and other final items took place. This week, structure punch list items, installation of seismic monitoring, backing of AC Dike, project cleanup, grading of the project yard, demobilization of equipment and materials (except equipment necessary to install Flange Protection), and hand seeding of areas disturbed by recent work will take place. All work is expected to be complete at the end of next week (end of January), weather permitting.

ADDITIONAL WORK—CALPORTLAND PAVING BETWEEN LUCIA (PM 23) AND JUST SOUTH OF PCB (45.52)
This week: Paving continues from the gas station/Post office (4

TRAINING ALERT: Due to heavy exercise traffic and extensive live fire activities, traffic along Jolon Road and through FHL will be impacted over the next couple of months. Be sure not to drive off the post’s paved roads, and expect that there may be delays. No one will be granted access into the training corridor unless escorted by range control operations personnel. This remains in effect until further notice.

There is a beach in Australia that has been called the whitest beach in the world. That has created problems for thelocal residents…that and STRs. Only 20% of the homes are now occupied full time. The rest are rented out for holiday.

Many of these Photographs are familiar.

There is much in this article which will resonate with Big Sur. See it here:

Hyams Beach, Australia

Thanks to Annie Haven for sending me this article.