Date:	Friday August 20, 2021
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONG TERM CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TO BEGIN ON HIGHWAY 1

SOUTH OF LIMEKILN STATE PARK

MONTEREY COUNTY – A project to replace a culvert and repair erosion on Highway 1 south of Limekiln State Park will result in long term one-way traffic control beginning Monday August 23.

The construction project on Highway 1 on the Big Sur Coast is located at Post Mile 20.4. This is approximately .36 miles south of Limekiln State Park and 1.4 miles north of Kirk Creek Campground. The project location is popularly known as Lucia Fountain.

Construction operations will commence Monday August 23 at 7 am.

One-way traffic control will be in effect Monday thru Friday from 7 am to 7 pm.

Travelers can expect delays of 10 to 15 minutes.

Message and directional signs will be in place to assist travelers. Please allow extra time for your travel through the area.

Work is scheduled to be completed, weather permitting, by the end of November 2021.

The network of culverts that lace Highway 1 on the Big Sur Coast serve as critical infrastructure to keep water and debris off the roadway during winter weather. Maintaining the integrity of culverts and erosion repair efforts contribute to the resiliency of the roadway during inclement conditions.

This $750,000 project is being performed by Serafix Engineering of Santa Rosa, CA.

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

For traffic updates on other state highways in Monterey County, travelers may contact Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5

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Kevin Drabinski

Public Information Officer

C

From Paolo Gonzalez in Palo Colorado Canyon:

Helllo. Is anyone missing a large, very friendly tri-color male Aussie? He showed up at my place about 6 AM, walked in and went to sleep. He has a collar with a yellow tag, but no information. Smells like he’s been skunked.

UPDATE He is in fact chipped. His name is “Fargo” if anyone knows his owner.

Thanks!

Keep our first responder routes safe for 9-1-1 response:

All photos by Brendon Shave. I’ll may add a few more later in the morning, but I am on break from the Planning Commission meeting so my time is limited.

The restaurant is gone. These photos were taken at about 1:30 am iby David Halterman. This is so sad.

I don’t go out much any more. I just get discouraged when I do. Instead, I choose to spend my time in solitude on a mountain top where I an watch Mother Nature host the greatest show on earth — the sunrise, the sunset, the trees dancing to the breezes that catch her leaves, all the while playing the symphony of our universe.

Sometimes, I have to. What used to be a peaceful drive down to the highway has become a challenge. I expect those on the weekend, but on a Tuesday morning? I don’t expect that, yet there it was.

I saw a smaller or lesser version of what I had seen on Muster Saturday. Cars, tents, campers set up all off the road, damaging the fields, the plants, the flowers…again….not to mention driving onto dry grass, risking staring a fire.

Further on down the road I encountered my first traffic jam. One of those cheap new Land Rovers came fact-to-face with me on a narrow part of the road, and there was a while Tacoma behind me. I am stuck in the middle and at the mercy of whoever blinks first. It was the Rover. He backed up. I have learned a lot about a driver by how he or she backs up on this narrow, steep, windy road. This one wasn’t bad. He or she had to back up a considerable distance to let me and the otherTacoma by.

I stayed in front. The Tacoma didn’t crowd me, which was good. I came upon a doe leading her two fawns down the road. I gave her plenty of space, as I did not want to spook any of them, causing the doe and her fawns to be separated. The Tacoma had no choice but to slow to the crawl pace I set as I watched the family make its way down the road. I watched them until all three of them, together as a unit, left the road. Then, and only then. did I stop crawling. The traffic jam was over and I could proceed at a more normal pace. A doe and her twins were admired and honored. We are all only guests here.

I keep getting asked the name and author or this. Emile White, as editor, did one of these every year for a while. To see the beginning of this story go to https://bigsurkate.blog/2021/06/14/monday-morning-coffee-the-big-sur-a-guide-to-highway-one/ There you can see the cover, the face page, and all your questions will be answered.

From the archives: