As seen on Highway 1 in the South Island of New Zealand this month, we need the same thing placed every mile of our Highway 1 in Big Sur! Please post on your blog for all drivers to see. Thanks, Alan Buchwald, Weston Ridge Road (BTW, NZ’s Highway One on the South Island is a lot like ours, including slides that close it off for a year at a time.)
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 continued: placing rock at the toe, building up the north fill, 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 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: completing seismic monitoring system and test; installing additional fence panels, installing flange protection devices and striping (by Caltrans).
ADDITIONAL WORK—CALPORTLAND PAVING BETWEEN LUCIA (PM 23) AND JUST SOUTH OF PCB (45.52)
Final items continue taking place in the next one to two weeks. Metal Beam Guardrail (MBGR) end treatment work at Castro Canyon (PM 43.12) is scheduled to take place at the end of the month.
Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.
The next update will be on Monday, February 26 ☺
Mud Creek, Sat. 2/17/18
Going back to last week’s article, how will we define the character of this place called Big Sur. Who and what is she? What defines her? Those questions and more we need to ask ourselves so that we can come up with a plan for sustainable tourism.
This is the path that the Galapagos is also taking – sustainable tourism. They figure they are at the limit, at a little under a 1/4 of a million visitors a year. As islands, it is easier to limit the number of tourists they allow to go there. And that is what they are doing, in order to protect a fragile and unique environment, where Darwin developed his theory of Natural Selection.
Galapagos fights temptation of lucrative mass tourism
“Keeping a tight lid on tourism is the way the South American country has preserved this volcanic string of 19 large islands, dozens of islets and rocky outcroppings.
Authorities wage this fight as world tourism grows and grows—it was up seven percent last year—and they must resist the temptation to let in hordes of visitors, their pockets bulging with dollars.
‘The Galapagos are the crown jewel, and as such, we have to protect them,’ Tourism Minister Enrique Ponce de Leon told AFP. ‘We must be drastic in caring for the environment.’”
The 26,000 residents and stewards of the Galapagos (and you can’t become a resident until you have been married to one for 10 years) have defined the character of this special place thusly:
“The environmental, social and biological features of this place—which is like no other—forces us to set a limit, to manage tourism in terms of supply, rather than demand,” said Walter Bustos, director of the Galapagos National Park.
The character rests on the uniqueness of the environmental, social, and biological features which are not found anywhere else. Could the same could be said of Big Sur? although the South Island of New Zealand does share some of our environmental features, our biological and social features are different.
How do you define the “character of place” that is Big Sur??
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-galapagos-temptation-lucrative-mass-tourism.html#jCp
(Next week we go back to the Destination Stewardship model and explore areas that might work here.)
Not so much here. I have a photo of some on my deck, but no Cone Peak covered with it.
These are Coast Ridge Rd. from Soaring:
Soaring’s back yard:
And here is my front deck & critter dish:
Sorry, no beautiful photos of Cone Peak this am. The North Coast got most of it. Still it is cold enough to build a fire this am.
From NOAA: “ snow levels will fall to or below 1,500 by tonight and potentially as low as 1,000 feet Monday morning. Thus, the chances for accumulating snowfall have increased for the Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia Mountains from late this evening into Monday morning. The latest high-resolution models indicate the potential for 1-3″ in the Santa Cruz Mountains with the highest elevations picking up nearly 5″. Meanwhile, the Santa Lucia Mountains will likely receive the greatest snowfall where 2-6″ will be more likely with isolated amounts upwards of 8″.”
Oh, this could be fun! I guess I will be building a fire later today/this evening.
Another amazing sunset by Lisa Kleissner
And today (Sat.)’s update: “The current forecast looks on track, if not a bit conservative, on the potential for snow — with 2-6 inches in Big Sur, 1-3 inches in the Santa Cruz mountains, and less than an inch over the coastal North Bay & inland higher terrain.”
February 15, 2018
Dear Big Sur Neighbors,
Chirp Film is producing a commercial project on Highway 1, in the Big Sur Area (between Rocky Point & Andrew Molera) .
Our team is working closely with several Monterey County Offices, State Agencies and Law Enforcement to insure that
we have our proper permits and that there is minimal impact on your neighborhood. To further reduce our presence in
your area, we will have only our most essential trucks and equipment located at our Basecamp at Bixby..
Our prep and event days will take place between February 16, 2018 and February 18, 2018
Proposed Prep dates (minimal crew):
• Friday, February 16th , 2018
Proposed Project dates:
• Saturday, February 17th ,2018 6A – 7P
Weather Dates (minimal crew):
• Sunday, February 18th ,2018 6A – 7P
CHP officers will be on site for ITC (intermittent traffic control) to assure public safety and make sure that everyone has
timely access to their destination. We are working with local vendors that know the area and the property; we will have
signs posted, pointing to the location to avoid any confusion.
We appreciate your support and cooperation and realize we are guests in your neighborhood and will do everything we
can to minimize a disruption while we are here. We have also taken all steps to ensure that all required permits and
liability insurance are in order. *Two members of our Location team will be on site at all times to address any issues that
may arise. Our team is available anytime if you need to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Best,
Alán Vasquez
Location Scout
T.831.402.5668
F.866.582.4904
Info@LocationsScouting.com
http://www.LocationsScouting.com
By Dan Danbom
