Cold enough…looks like after 11 pm

6:40 pm -it is now showing 6 miles of back-up.

As of 6 pm, Martha Diehl reports: “As of this time NB traffic backed up to the long turnout past the Otter Cove gate.” I’ll bet you are glad to be going south, Martha.

As of 3:41 pm Saturday afternoon, traffic was backed all the way back to the little gas station at the Highlands, Fern Canyon.

Here is what it looked like further north. Photo by DJ Singh.

MONTEREY COUNTY

April 10, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STATE ROUTE 1 CLIMBING LANE AT RIO ROAD

CARMEL, CA–The Monterey County Resource Management Agency (RMA) is managing the construction of the Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project, under permit from Caltrans. The County is aware of the current traffic delays and is working closely with Caltrans and the contractor to improve the situation. The construction activities will continue to affect traffic flow for the duration of the project, however the County in coordination with Caltrans is actively working on minimizing traffic delays.

Construction work hours are normally from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with occasional overnight roadwork between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The project is five months in duration and is slated to be complete at the end of August.

The State Route 1 Climbing Lane Project consists of widening State Route 1 (SR-1) on the eastside, to provide a second northbound lane and installation of new signal poles at the SR-1/Rio Road and SR-1/Carmel Valley Road intersections. Recent activities involve placing temporary concrete barriers along the project site. This will remain in place until after the final paving is complete on SR-1. All interim traffic measures are necessary to maximize public safety, while facilitating traffic flows as best possible, while construction crews work behind the barriers.

Thank you for your patience. Additional information can be found at:

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-i-z/resource-management-agency-rma-/public-works-facilities/current-major-projects/highway-1-climbing-lane

http://www.tamcmonterey.org/cone-zone-report-7/

http://dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/monterey/conezone_report.pdf

For more information, please contact Christine Poe, Management Analyst II at PoeC@co.monterey.ca.us or at (831)755-5025.

Not good news for Paul’s Slide and/or Mud Creek…

This is a notification from Alert Monterey County:
The National Weather Service in The San Francisco Bay Area has issued a Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory for Southwestern Monterey County in central California…

* Until 1015 AM PDT

* At 912 AM PDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain that will cause
urban and small stream flooding in the advisory area.

* Some locations that will experience flooding include…
Lucia, Gorda, King City, Colman Canyon, San Ardo, San Lucas and
Fort Hunter Ligget Raws.

First off, I want to thank a couple of readers who are taking initiative on their concerns, after sharing them with me. There is only so much I can do. One, encountered difficulties gaining access to a beach at Kirk Creek where they have been fishing for years, by walking through the campground. The campground hosts prevented them from doing so, creating such a scene that both parties contacted the MCSO. The party also contacted the USFS in King City. Looks like the beach and trail will remain open. USFS will be talking to Park Management re the issue, and I may or may not hear the results of that.

Another reader noted an old article on MCWeekly, which is still posted on line, pointing people to several “out-of-the-way” camping spots, including Bottcher’s Gap, which cannot be accessed since the Soberanes Fire and then the road damage up Palo Colorado Canyon. She wrote them asking them to take down that article and not increase our tourist issues down here. Hopefully, she will let me know what MCWeekly’s response is

I encourage you all to let me know of problems you encounter with our burgeoning tourist issue and what you do in your efforts to resolve them.

Second, I have obtained a copy of the contract between Cal Trans and Madonna Construction for the repair of Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide. I am happy to share them with any of you who are interested in receiving them. The contract itself is about 40 pages, and there are 3 amendments, each 2 pages long. They are complicated.  I have converted the pdfs to jpg. Comment below or send me an email if interested and I will forward them. I have not had time to review them, and may not for a while. Which brings me to my third item.

Rock Knocker’s sister had a brain aneurysm and had surgery at a hospital in SF yesterday. They are bringing her out of a medically induced coma today.  We were not able to go up today, as Rock Knocker was in San Luis getting his income taxes done. We are awaiting a call from his sister-in-law who is going this afternoon to see her, and will let us know what is happening. At that time we will make the decision about when to head up. Of course, neither of us is looking forward to traveling during an Atmospheric River into the eye of the storm, so will take some planning. I will try to provide reports, if I am able.

I am headed out to restock – I take every opportunity, particularly when I get word of another storm coming. But here is what is anticipated. Fortunately for the Central Coast, this is expected to impact the North Bay more than us, but it will all depend on where the Atmospheric River makes landfall, of course.

 

 

Photos of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) from Friday, March 30 and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) from last Tuesday, March 27

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Monday, April 2
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.

This week: The same ongoing operations continue: building up the north fill, working on the 63 inch drainage system, working on the retaining wall and excavating material below the new alignment to finished grade.

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 was cleaned up last week from debris and slide material. It 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. 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. Project is completed with only a few final items remaining including installing additional fence panels, installing flange protection devices. Project expected to fully complete by the end of April, weather permitting.

ADDITIONAL WORK—CALPORTLAND PAVING BETWEEN LUCIA (PM 23) AND JUST SOUTH OF PCB (45.52)
Final items continue taking place for the next two months. Metal Beam Guardrail (MBGR) end treatment work at Castro Canyon (PM 43.12) and slope work along project limits is scheduled to take place in early Spring, weather permitting.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.

The next update will be on Monday, April 9 ☺
Susana Z. Cruz nature-flower-blue-motif[1]
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer

There should be an update on the highway around noon today. I will post when I receive it. Also, a worker at Mud Creek observed a large (truck-sized) boulder come crashing down late last week. Fortunately, it missed him, and his vehicle.

Recent Incidents (Prepared 04/02/2018 10:04)

Date Inc # Name Type Location WebComment Resources IC Fuels Acres Lat/Lon
04/02/2018 09:35 LPF-765
FHL Training Areas 27 & 28 Prescribed Fire FHL TRAINING AREA 27