Category: Road Conditions

Cow Cliffs Project to begin 8/24

And even MORE Overnight closures are in our future!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1/COW CLIFFS VIADUCT PROJECT BEGINS MONDAY, AUGUST 24

MONTEREY COUNTY –A primarily daytime ½-mile project to construct a viaduct along Hwy. 1 near Lucia from south of Big Creek Bridge to South of Dolan Creek Bridge, 18 miles south of Big Sur will begin on Monday, Aug. 24, Caltrans officials announced today.

Hwy. 1 at Cow Cliffs will have one-way signalized traffic control 24/7, which is already in place. Traffic will be stopped for 10 minutes at a time during daytime roadwork. However, full overnight closures will not take place until approximately December, after the Elephant Trunk Retaining Wall overnight closures have been completed.

The project consists of constructing a permanent viaduct, about five miles north of Lucia and 18 miles south of Big Sur. Completion is scheduled for fall of 2016, weather permitting. Daily roadwork schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions and other factors so stay tuned for regular updates. ALL BUSINESSES ALONG THE BIG SUR COAST WILL REMAIN OPEN.

In order to minimize traffic impact as part of the project, there will be advance notification for motorists, residents and businesses via a traffic hotline, electronic message signs and email updates.

Highways 1 and 17 in Santa Cruz to have overnight roadwork, with significant delays and detours

Today’s Date: Friday, June 19, 2015District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa       

                        Cruz Counties                                                  

Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones

Phone: (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189

         FOUR NIGHTS OF PAVING ALONG HIGHWAYS 1 AND 17 IN SANTA CRUZ–BEGINNING SUNDAY

SANTA CRUZ – Four nights of paving along Highways 1 and 17 in Santa Cruz will take place from overnight Sunday, June 21 through Thursday, June 25 in the morning in the following locations:

1. Northbound Hwy. 1 at the Fishhook on:

· Sunday night, June 21 from 8 pm to 6 am

· Both lanes closed; detour available

· Up to 30-minute delays are anticipated.

 

2. Northbound Hwy. 1 at the Fishhook on:

· Monday night, June 22 from 8 pm to 6 am

· Both lanes closed; detour available

· Up to 30-minute delays are anticipated.

 

3. Southbound Hwy. 1 to Ocean St on:

· Tuesday, June 23 from 7 pm to 5 am

· Off-ramp closed; detour available

· 10-15 minute delays are anticipated.

 

4. Northbound Hwy. 1, from Fishhook to Pasatiempo on:

· Wednesday, June 24 from 8 m to 6 am (Thursday)

· #2 (middle) and #3 (right) lanes closed; #1 (left) lane open

· Up to 30-minute delays are anticipated.

 NOTE: There will be Electronic Message Boards alerting motorists of the closures and the CHP will assist with traffic control.

 All roadwork is expected to be completed Thursday morning, June 25.

 This roadwork is being performed by Caltrans Santa Cruz Maintenance crews as a safety precaution to repair the deteriorated highway to provide motorists and cyclists a safer route to travel.

 Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway construction zones.

 For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in Santa Cruz County, residents can call the District 5 toll free number at 1-831-423-0396 or can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#scr

SB 101 at Canal in King City closed due to Big Rig Explosion and Fire

Incident: 00122 Type: Trfc Collision-No Inj Location: Us101 S / Canal Loc Desc: SB 101 AT CANAL ST Lat/Lon: 36.203056 -121.130000   Detail Information

10:09 AM 24 [40] [Notification] [CHP]-Problem changed from 1179-Trfc Collision-1141 Enrt to 1182-Trfc Collision-No Inj by CHP

10:07 AM 23 [38] 1039 CAMP ROBTS PD, SB 101 CLOSED, UNKWN ETO

10:06 AM 22 [37] 1039 FT HUNTER LIGGET PD, SB 101 CLOSED, UNKWN ETO

10:05 AM 21 [35] 1039 CALFIRE, SB 101 CLOSED, UNKWN ETO

10:05 AM 20 [34] 1039 MTY COMM, SB 101 CLOSED, UNKWN ETAO

10:03 AM 19 [33] SIG ALERT SENT

10:02 AM 18 [32] UNK ETA OF CLOSURE

9:59 AM 17 [29] 8-S2 ADVZ POSS REROUTING TRFC OFF CANAL TO FIRST / FULL SB CLOSURE

9:53 AM 16 [28] 1039 CALIF TOW 831-424-8615 W/SALVAGE BIG RIG

9:51 AM 15 [24] CALT ENRT FOR 1184 NOW ETA 10-15

9:49 AM 14 [21] SOLO VEH TC/ DRVR OO VEH

9:49 AM 13 [20] 1039 CT DIST 5 RD CLOSURE REQUEST

9:48 AM 12 [19] PER FIRE COMM – REQ CT SHUT DOWN THE FWY / AT THE SAN LORENZO BRIDGE AND 1/4M I JSO CANAL

9:48 AM 11 [18] MONT COM LL / INV PTY EXITED ONTO CANAL / UNK VEH DESC

9:48 AM 10 [17] BIG RIG CARRYING GRAPES / FULLY ENGULFED ON ITS SIDE

9:47 AM 9 [16] 1185 BIG RIG

9:47 AM 8 [15] FIRE 97

9:46 AM 7 [9] 1125 SB LANES

9:44 AM 6 [7] VEH INTO TREES \

9:43 AM 5 [6] VEH WENT OFF RDWY AND EXPLODED

9:43 AM 4 [4] LARGE FIRE

9:43 AM 3 [3] ADD VEH ON ITS ROOF

9:43 AM 2 [2] SEMI ON ITS SIDE

9:43 AM 1 [1] VEH COLLISION W./EXPLOSION

Elephants Trunk Update #4

“The next phase of the project consists of full overnight closures on Highway 1 from Gorda to Ragged Point and is scheduled to begin on Sunday night, June 21. Roadwork will take place Sunday nights through Friday mornings from 10 pm until 7 am.”

I am only reproducing the new information, or changes, as with this one.

 

Elephant’s Trunk Update

NEWS RELEASE
Today’s Date: Thursday, May 28, 2015
District: 05–Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Jim Shivers 
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*UPDATE #2* 

HIGHWAY 1 RETAINING WALL PROJECT CONTINUES NEAR THE SAN LUIS OBISPO/MONTEREY COUNTY LINE 


SAN LUIS OBISPO/MONTEREY COUNTIES – A project to construct a retaining wall on Highway 1 in northern San Luis Obispo/southern Monterey Counties is now underway.  It will serve as a permanent restoration effort in this area known for major slides.
 
The next phase of the project consists of full overnight closures on Highway 1 from Gorda to Ragged Point and is scheduled to begin on Sunday night, June 7. Roadwork will take place Sunday nights through Friday mornings from 10 pm until 7 am.  
 
Motorists traveling north/south of these closures are advised to reach their destinations before 10 pm.  All local businesses along the coast will remain open during the roadwork. 
 
Motorists will encounter one-way reversing traffic control via a temporary traffic signal 24/7 except during overnight full closures. Traffic delays during the one-way traffic control will be 5-10 minutes.
 
Electronic message signs will be activated at the following locations: 1) on northbound US Highway 101, just south of the Hwy. 46/Hwy. 1 intersection in Paso Robles; 2) at the westbound Hwy. 46/ Hwy. 101 intersection in Paso Robles; 3) on Hwy. 1 in Cambria/San Simeon and also 4) on Hwy. 1 at Coast Gallery up the coast to inform motorists of these highway closures. 
 
The contractor for this $9.5 million project is John Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo, CA. This project is expected to be completed in winter  2016-17.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway construction zones.


For traffic updates on other state highways in San Luis Obispo County, motorists can call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/road_information.htm. Motorists can also contact the toll-free hotline from Cambria to Carmel at: 888-836-0866.




Official Cal Trans Notice re Elephant’s Trunk

Today’s Date: Thursday, May 21, 2015
District: 05–Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Jim Shivers 
Phone:  (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*UPDATE #1* 
HIGHWAY 1 RETAINING WALL PROJECT CONTINUES NEAR THE SAN LUIS OBISPO/MONTEREY COUNTY LINE 

SAN LUIS OBISPO/MONTEREY COUNTIES – A project to construct a retaining wall on Highway 1 in northern San Luis Obispo/southern Monterey Counties is now underway.  It is expected to serve as a permanent restoration effort in this area known for major slides.
 
The next phase of the project consists of full overnight closures on Highway 1 from Gorda to Ragged Point and is scheduled to begin on Sunday night, May 31. Roadwork will take place Sunday nights through Friday mornings from tentatively 10 pm until 7 am.  
 
Motorists traveling north/south of these closures are advised to reach their destinations before 9 pm.  All businesses along the coast will remain open during the roadwork. 
 
Motorists will encounter one-way reversing traffic control via a temporary traffic signal 24/7 except during overnight full closures. Traffic delays during the one-way traffic control will be 5-10 minutes.
 
Electronic message signs will be activated on US Highway 101 in Paso Robles and Hwy. 1 in Carmel and Cambria to inform motorists of these highway closures. All local businesses will remain open during this project.
 
Note: The construction schedule may be adjusted to meet the needs of local businesses and the Pacific Valley School.

The contractor for this $9.5 million project is John Madonna Construction of San Luis Obispo, CA. This project is expected to be completed in winter of 2016.


Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway construction zones.


For traffic updates on other state highways in San Luis Obispo County, motorists can call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/road_information.htm. Motorists can also contact the toll-free hotline from Cambria to Carmel at: 888-836-0866.

Elephant’s Trunk Construction, South Coast Big Sur

Yesterday, Cal -Trans held a community meeting at the Willow Springs Maintenace Yard regarding the 18-month long project at “Elephant’s Trunk” and “Cow Cliffs.” (I am going to work on getting Don Harlan’s paper on the various place-names for highway spots down here all on one page so that it will be easy to refer to.) It was well attended by both Cal Trans and the Community members. To accommodate businesses and locals, the times for the overnight closures have been changed to 10 pm-7am, Sunday nights through Friday mornings for a four month period which will begin on the first. The project will proceed well past that time, but like the Rocky Creek Viaduct, over night closures are necessary due to the narrowness of the road and the need to install the pilings.

Ever since the signals went in, even before they were operational, Rock Knocker expressed some misgivings about how well they would work, given the distance between them. Yesterday, just before 6 pm, we got a first hand demonstration of his concerns manifested. We were the 5th car in line when our signal turned green for us, the north-bound traffic, to proceed. We were all moving forward when a car came through toward us. We all stopped so he could wiggle through. We began to try to move forward, and again, another car came at us. Then another, and another, and another. All together, 12 cars proceeded south bound when the light was green for the north bound traffic to proceed. Either there was something wrong with the signals, or 12 different people decided to run the light. Given the length of this project, the length of the signaled area, and the curvy nature of the area, rendering oncoming traffic not visible until the last minute, it is only a matter a time before there will be an accident there, tying up traffic on Highway One for potentially a long time. I advise extreme caution when traveling through this area, north of Ragged Point. Even if your signal is green, proceed slowly and with caution.

2015-2016 winter El Niño predictions

Okay, I am reading predictions of a super El Niño, rivaling 1998. So how accurate are these predictions? Per NOAA, it depends on when the prediction is made. In Spring, NO reliability, but as we move away from Spring, the predictions become more accurate.there is a great chart that demonstrates this.  

In the meantime, this is what forecasters are saying:

“NOAA’s CFSv2 model is forecasting a strong El Nino event will develop this summer and continue through 2015. Warm water along the west coast, combined with weaker than normal winds caused by El Nino will prevent nutrient rich cold water from welling up along the coast. Species that depend on nutrient upwelling will face starvation. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has an excellent El Nino forecasting model which is also predicting a strong El Nino. Because the jet stream has already gone into an El Nino pattern by moving south over the eastern Pacific ocean and Mexico and further north than normal over the eastern Atlantic ocean, the likelihood of El Nino failing to strengthen is small. Last year’s Kelvin wave failed to bring on a strong El Nino because trade winds in the south Pacific didn’t weaken but this year they have and waters along the west coast of south America have already warmed. The south Pacific has moved out of the cool mode it was in a year ago.”  

I will continue to explore and discuss this possibility as it developers, and IF it developers as predicted, I will explore what that means in terms of road closures for Big Sur by looking at what happened in 1998, the last Super El Niño.

Big Sur Marathon

CALTRANS
Today’s Date: Thursday, April 16, 2015
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties                                                  
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone:  (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL MARATHON TO BE RUN ALONG HIGHWAY 1 ON SUNDAY, APRIL 26
 
MONTEREY COUNTY (CARMEL/BIG SUR) – The Big Sur International Marathon will be run along Highway 1 beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.  The race will start in Big Sur and will end at Rio Road in Carmel.

Traffic on Highway 1 will be restricted from 6:00 am until 1:30 pm from Sycamore Canyon Road to Carmel Valley Road. While the southbound lane is closed for the race, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will use the northbound lane to lead caravans of traffic in alternating directions at three different intervals during this time.  The CHP will also manage a closure for left turns from Carmel Valley Road onto southbound Hwy. 1 from 3:30 am until 1:30 pm. Therefore, motorists traveling in both directions should expect delays of up to two hours.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.

To find out further information about the marathon, please call (831) 625-6226 or visit the official race website http://bsim.org/ 

For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in Monterey County, residents can call the District 5 toll free number at 1-877-448-6771 or can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon
—–

FROM THE BIG SUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE



The Big Sur Chamber of Commerce has a page with information supplied by BSIM which includes the Race Day Caravan Schedule, course map and more here:  http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/2015marathon.html

Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 87
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-2100
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org
http://www.Twitter.com/BigSurCC
http://www.TheBigSurBlog.com – Contains local information and updates on emergency information when appropriate.

Highway 1 Big Sur now has a toll free hotline to Check Road Conditions courtesy of CalTrans 888-836-0866

To subscribe to this email list send an email to bigsur-subscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

Overnight closure of SouthboundHighway One at Highway 68

This is as clear as any opaque item, at least to me. It appears there will be a working detour, with signs, but darned if I can figure it out based on this description.


OVERNIGHT CLOSURE OF SOUTHBOUND HIGHWAY 1/HIGHWAY 68 WEST CONNECTOR RAMP IN MONTEREY BEGINS ON MONDAY, APRIL 6

 

      MONTEREY – An overnight project to stabilize a highway embankment will require the full

      closure of the southbound Highway 1/Highway 68 west connector ramp beginning Monday

      night, April 6, Caltrans officials have announced.

 

Overnight roadwork will require this connector ramp closure for four nights starting Monday, April 6 through Thursday, April 9 from 8 pm to 6 am the next day. A signed detour will be in place directing traffic south to Ocean Ave. then return northbound using the adjacent frontage road back onto Hwy. 1, following signs back to the northbound Hwy. 68 off-ramp.

         

NOTE: No two consecutive ramps will be closed at one time. Electronic Message Signs will be posted to alert motorists, who can expect delays not to exceed 10 minutes, which is the estimated time to complete the detour. 

 

Roadwork will consist of stabilizing the slope adjacent to the southbound Hwy. 1/Hwy. 68 connector due to slide damage last December. Roadwork is expected to be complete by Friday morning, April 10.

 

The contractor for this $281,000 project near the Community Hospital is Monterey Peninsula of Marina, CA.