Category: mud creek

Highway One expanded closure continues

UPDATE #1–TRAFFIC ADVISORY**

CALTRANS CONTINUES WITH TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HWY. 1 WITH CLOSURE LIMITS THAT INCLUDE MUD CREEK/PAUL’S SLIDE

MONTEREY COUNTY —The southern limits of the closure of Highway 1 will remain from Ragged Point (PM SLO 72.87) to Mud Creek (PM Mon 8.9) and the northern limits at Paul’s Slide (PM MON 21.6) due to heavy rainfall and slide activity in the area.   Highway 1 will remain closed at these two locations until further notice.

Businesses along the Big Sur Coast on Hwy. 1 remain open and are accessible via Hwys. 101, 68 and 46.

Caltrans’ Geotech, Maintenance and Construction units are on call and prepared to inspect/clean up when the storm ends during the daylight hours and it is safe to be onsite again—at this time, the forecast shows the storm is stretching into Sunday, Feb. 17th with the possibility of thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall, so we plan to begin assessments on Saturday morning, Feb. 16th. Caltrans’ goal is to open the roadway as quickly and safely as possible and our staff remains on-call 24/7.

The gates on either side of Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide will be key locked. These gates will not be manned when the highway is closed and there will be no access to anyone, including Emergency Services or Caltrans employees until a proper assessment can be made and any necessary cleanup has been completed.

NOTE: This advisory applies only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately. Please stay tuned for additional information when the roadway opens again. SEE ATTACHED CLOSURE MAP.

An update will be provided by 5 pm on Saturday, Feb. 16th after assessments have been made.

Photos of Mud Creek taken 2/14/19

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Highway closes at noon today, 11/28/18

UPDATE: This is the rather impressive storm coming in from the GOES Satellite, and the expected rainfall amounts through tomorrow at 4 am. (Scroll down for Highway closure update.)

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TRAFFIC ADVISORY**

CALTRANS ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HWY. 1 AT MUD CREEK/PAUL’S SLIDE

MONTEREY COUNTY — Caltrans has received confirmation from the National Weather Service (NOAA) that a significant storm has reached the areas of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) on State Route 1 in the Big Sur area and will close Highway 1 at Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 12 noon until further notice.

 The closure initiation process will begin at 10 am with Electronic Message Signs activated and both sets of gates (Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide) closed by noon. Storm activity is forecast through tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 29.

Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. (PM 18.9) is the alternate route to reach Hwy. 1 between Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide. However, there is a 12-foot height restriction at one of the bridges along this route. Please feel free to check with Fort Hunter-Liggett for more updated information on their road at: https://www.facebook.com/FortHunterLiggett.

Caltrans’ Geotech, Maintenance and Construction units are on call and prepared to inspect/clean up when the storm ends during the daylight hours and it is safe to be onsite again—we anticipate this to be Friday morning, Nov. 30. Caltrans’ goal is to open the roadway as quickly and safely as possible and our staff remains on-call 24/7.

The gates on either side of Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide will be key locked. These gates will not be manned when the highway is closed and there will be no access to anyone, including Emergency Services or Caltrans employees until a proper assessment can be made and any necessary cleanup has been completed.

NOTE: This advisory applies only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately—both are closing today. Please stay tuned for additional information when the roadway opens again. SEE ATTACHED CLOSURE MAP.

Mud Creek Cracks, 8/31/18 vs 9/3/18

Friday, 8/31/18:

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Clearly marked South Bound lane

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Monday, 9/4/18:

Here are the equivalent photos, as best as I can (he promises to take the series from the same or similar spot) and then at the end of this post, I will add a few extra from different perspectives.

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Perspective:

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View of same crack from northbound lane

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The beginning of the crack in the dirt.

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Mud Creek cracks

From Mud Creek last week, Friday, I think. I drove it Thursday and it looked about the same, top photo from Cal Trans, bottom photos by bigsurkate. If one enlarges the top Photo, one can see the crack goes almost to the center line

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I received An email yesterday regarding the above:

On Aug 31, 2018, at 12:13 PM, John Woolfolk wrote:

Hi I’m a reporter for the San Jose Mercury News. I’m writing up something short about the tiny cracks along the Highway 1 patch at Mud Creek, wanted to know if folks down there worry about things like that. Thanks much,

—

John Woolfolk Assistant Metro Editor | Editorial

bayareanewsgroup.com

Over 5 million engaged readers weekly

I answered:

I have a blog post going up tomorrow with photos from yesterday showing the cracks. It is something we will watch, certainly. I will be checking it at least once a week to see if there are any significant changes, but then Madonna construction is still on site, so I am sure they will be checking as well. If there is any changes of note, I will be publishing on my blog. I would not say we “worry about things like that” as you ask, much more like we anticipate things like this. We have a saying regarding this road during each winter. The question is not IF it will close; the questions are: when will it close, where will it close, and for how long will it remain closed.

Mud Creek Ribbon Cutting Opening Ceremony

Ragged Point did a wonderful job of hosting this event. It was extremely well attended. I have  more photos and a good description of the project as built.

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Ribbon cutting with the new Cal Trans Director, Laurie Berman (almost hidden but with scissors) & John Madonna (pink shirt) the contractor.

Here are a couple others: 04B97F62-69B7-43F3-9393-2BB078012265

IHere is a better photo of Laurie Berman, Cal Trans Director.

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This is Commissioner Warren Stanley, CHP Commissioner

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Anna Caballero, State Assembly

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Bill Monning, State Senator

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John Madonna, Madonna Construction

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Part of John’s crew

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Some of the crowd

“The project design philosophy: The plan to open the highway was guided in part by the 2004 Big Sur Coast Highway Management Plan. The document was prepared by Caltrans with guidance from a 19-member Sterling committeee including participation from local stakeholders Part of this plan was an overview of geology and landslides on the Big Sur Coast and it provided guidelines and techniques for how to manage and respond to these events. From this, a realignment alternative rose to the top because it was the efficient cost evfective, and ecologically mindful alternative available to reopen the highway. To do this however, protective features need to be building including:

*Rock Revetment: On the new shoreline, a rock revetment over 2000 feet long and 40 feet tall was built to prevent erosion and secured the main body of the slide. Without the revetment, the soil from the landslide would have been eroded away leaving nowhere to place the realigned highway. The revetment also reduced the amount of sediment entering critical black abalone habitat found up and down the Big Sur Coast.

*Engineered Embankments, Berms, and Catchments: Built in lifts to ensure proper compaction and reinforced with geosythetic fabric in steeper locations the 160 to 260-foot tall embankments, supported the realigned highway. Located above the berms, hilflicker retaining walls and strategic catchments were constructed to handle anticipated debris from the dynamic, continued and thoroughly monitored movement of the landslide. These work together to move and protect the highway away from the more active portions of the project site

*Culverts, Netting, and Other Protective Features: As the site matures, it is anticipated that debris will come down from the hillside. Culverts to handle runoff were installed, netting to reduce the energy of falling debris, and other protective features will allow for a defensible space for the highway and out maintenance forces.” (From program at the ceremony.)

 

 

 

 

Highway to open tomorrow, Weds. 7/18 at 10 am

CALTRANS
Today’s Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at 1:30 pm
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties                                                  
Contact:  Susana Z. Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     
###TRAFFIC ADVISORY###
STATE ROUTE 1/MUD CREEK WILL OPEN TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18 BY 10 AM
 
MONTEREY COUNTY– The contractor made great progress in the last several days so final striping and inspection by our crews is underway. As a result, Highway 1 at Mud Creek will RE-OPEN by 10 am tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18, nearly 14 months after the massive landslide and emergency repair project.
 
Electronic Message Signs will be changed once the highway is open, also Headquarters Communications and QuickMap will be updated.
 
Our official ribbon-cutting/community celebration remains set for Friday, July 20 at 11 am at the Ragged Point Inn.
 
This $54 million repair included the reconstruction of ¼-mile of new roadway alignment built on the slide material and a compacted embankment at the south and north ends. The new highway extends out towards the ocean upwards of 250 from the original highway. The roadway is 150 to 260 feet above sea level and buttressed with a series of embankments, berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: All roadwork is still not complete at Mud Creek. Travelers may encounter one-way traffic control at times when a lane closure is needed, mostly on weekdays. Also, due to the cuts and work on the embankment and roadway at Mud Creek, it will take about two winters for the new slopes to fully stabilize.
 
The public may learn more about this and other projects by visiting the Caltrans District 5 News Release page at: http://dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm.
 
 
Aerial photo of Mud Creek from today courtesy of John Madonna.
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Mud Creek Closure

NOTE: THE SOUTHERN CLOSURE ON STATE ROUTE 1 WILL MOVE FROM SALMON CREEK TO RAGGED POINT ON THE MORNING OF MONDAY, JULY 9 AND CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THAT WEEK.

THE CLOSURE WILL MOVE BCK TO SALMON CREEK LATE IN THE DAY ON FRIDAY, JULY 13 UNTIL THE HIGHWAY IS FULLY OPENED.

Mud Creek is still scheduled to open July 20, 2018 with a ribbon cutting at Ragged Point at 11 am.

 

Cal Trans announces opening date of Mud Creek

Today’s Date:  Tuesday, July 3, 2018

District:     05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa

Cruz Counties

Contact:                                  Jim Shivers or Colin Jones

Phone:                                   (805) 549-3237 or 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                

CALTRANS ANNOUNCES PLAN TO RE-OPEN STATE ROUTE 1 AT MUD CREEK AFTERMASSIVE LANDSLIDE

Highway Opening Set for July 20 Restores Full Access to the Big Sur Coast

MONTEREY COUNTY–Caltrans has announced that State Route 1 at Mud Creek along the southern Big Sur Coast is scheduled to re-open by Friday, July 20 at 11 am.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening will take place at the Ragged Point Inn at that time.

The re-opening of this section of State Route 1 follows a massive landslide on May 20, 2017 which resulted in the movement of six million cubic yards of material and 50 acres of displaced land, including the creation of 2,400 feet of new shoreline. A quarter-mile section of roadway was lost due to this landslide.

“We’re very pleased to share this long-awaited news with everyone who travels along this international destination the many businesses that benefit from the coast highway,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “Mud Creek is the last closure point so travelers will be able to take Highway 1 all the way through Big Sur for the first time in 18 months.

This section of State Route 1 was built across the slide material buttressed with a series of embankments and compacted soil and using protective features including berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material.

The rebuilding effort included construction seven days a week, dawn to dusk for the past year and was completed two months ahead of our initial mid-September estimate.

The contractor for this $54 million emergency project was John Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo, CA.

For traffic updates on all state highways in San Luis Obispo County, motorists may call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or visit: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/road_information.htm.

 

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Highway 1 at Mud Creek near Gorda looking south (7/2/18, photo courtesy of Caltrans)