There is some good aerial footage provided by Caltrans on this news report by Felix Cortez of KSBW: https://www.ksbw.com/article/highway-1-reopening-brings-big-sur-businesses/65452677

For a similar report from KSBY in San Luis Obispo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRzXJfKk9C4

This is a good summary of the meeting Caltrans had with local business owners as summarized by Kirk Gafill:

Secretary Omishakin announced that Caltrans anticipates being able to provide a timeline/time frame for re-opening the highway by mid-September of this year.  Further, the Secretary made absolutely clear that the state and governor were “all in” on clearing this slide and re-opening the highway safely and at the earliest opportunity.  This commitment was something that the Secretary was informed had not been clearly reflected in the media or in public statements by the state and he and VisitCA team appeared to appreciate importance of including that critical commitment in outreach going forward to hopefully offset the persistent negative publicity by the national and regional media that often has raised issue of whether it is worth re-opening the highway or was keeping it open sustainable.

Safety was a key topic repeatedly referenced throughout all of the briefing and subsequent discussions generally and specific to this project due to the unique and complex site conditions that require line of sight visibility for spotters each working period (goal is to be working every daylight hour as conditions permit), in conjunction with drone, and remote sensor monitoring for slide movement.  Thus, coastal fog has been a delaying factor in this phase of the project, though yesterday’s weather was clear.

The mid-September update is based on estimated time to bring current work area 100′ down the slide face to the level of the rocky outcropping where the original work area was for the original lower slide last August.  Once at rocky outcropping, Caltrans team expressed confidence that they will then be working in a geological formation that they are very familiar with and once they are successful in clearing that formation, they then have 350′ further to get down to the highway level.  This last 350′ though is anticipated to be a “scaling” operation rather than a major excavation operation, which should allow for a faster completion rate and metal netting will be draped and affixed to the slide face from the rocky outcropping section down to the highway level to protect workers below and future rock/material impacts on the highway after re-opening (there are numerous examples on the Big Sur Coast and this has proved to be a successful preventative effort on other slide areas, such as Alder Springs).

Excavation has resumed for the first time in approx. 2 months.

Shear dowels to stabilize slope above work area strategy is working well and has essentially been completed down to current work level and will continue concurrently with excavation.  Based on descriptions of the past challenges of having to pull workers and equipment off the slide due to variable and persistent upper slide activity (sometimes as a result of the work involved to clear the slide), this comprehensive approach of installing shear dowels appears to be very successful in stabilizing slopes above work areas.

Contractor lead who has significant experience on multiple Big Sur coastal slide and highway repair projects and on-site Caltrans engineers were optimistic that once they got to highway level (150` above sea level), that there was a reasonably good chance, based on past slides, that highway road bed could be in good shape and that repaving/re-opening highway at that point could be done quickly (i.e. within a week per contractor).

Clearly, based on the past experience with this slide it is  premature to be unduly optimistic or to project with any confidence a re-opening time right now, but I found that in speaking with many of the geotech and engineering leads a high level of confidence that the shear dowel strategy is proving itself and that this project can now move forward (keep fingers crossed for limited fog this summer)  with hopefully far fewer and more limited non-weather related delays.

And from the History Channel, the history of the construction of Highway One, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRzXJfKk9C4. Some fascinating original black and white photos of the building of the road.

• Originally, I had written Mid-August per the KSBW, Felix Cortez’ story, but what Caltrans actually said was Mid-September, and so I changed it to avoid confusion. He also said he did not see it opening in the foreseeable future.

The “Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble” National Day of Action is being held on July 17th, the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’s passing, to honor his legacy of nonviolent protest and defend democracy. 

Thursday, July 17: Good Trouble Live Special  – Online 4:30 PT, 5:30 MT, 6:30 CT, 7:30 ET

Norman Eisen is joined by special guests, including Jim Acosta, Katie Phang & Rep. Jamie Raskin to cover the national day of protest, share personal stories about John Lewis, and revive and inspire the threatened, ongoing battle for democracy.

GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON:

Thu, Jul 17

12:00 PM — 1:30 PM PDT

East Village Cambria

Cambria, CA 93428

For an event near you, see: https://goodtroubleliveson.org/

The Big Sur Fund in Memory of Weston Call provides sustainable, impactful and supplemental funding to nonprofit organizations benefiting the residents of Big Sur and builds resources for disaster relief. Each year, the Big Sur Fund Advisory Council (made up of community volunteers) determines where to award grants for greatest impact based on their communities’ highest priority needs. The Big Sur Fund is currently accepting 2025 Grant Applications, due by August 1, 2025by 5:00 PM or earlier. Details and to apply: cfmco.org/bigsurgrants

This  opportunity supports organizations working within Big Sur, with a focus on Health, Safety, Education, Arts, Culture and Community Stewardship. The Big Sur Fund granted $21,000 in 2024 and more than $134,000 since 2019. For more details, please visit: cfmco.org/BigSur The Big Sur Fund in Memory of Weston Call is a special purpose fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County.

I’m reaching out on behalf of the Monterey Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association to share a press release about our new fundraising campaign to support urgent maintenance and preservation work at the historic Chews Ridge Fire Lookout on Tassajara Road.

As one of the last active fire detection towers on California’s Central Coast—and a beloved part of local wildfire history—we believe this is a story that will resonate with your audience.

We’d be grateful if you could help us spread the word by sharing the campaign through your networks, newsletters, or social media. Every bit of visibility helps us protect and preserve this important resource. You can view and share the fundraising page here: https://crlo.betterworld.org/campaigns/restore-chews-ridge

Please let me know if you’d like more information, photos, or to speak with a member of our team—we’re happy to provide whatever you need.

With appreciation,
Martha
Monterey Chapter, Forest Fire Lookout Association

I know I’ve used this one before, but it bears repeating now more than ever. While we saved our public lands from sale, we did not save them from being raped by taking their trees, their minerals, and their oil and gas reserves. We need to continue our fight to prevent their destruction. We need to support and protect our public lands for our children and grandchildren by electing people to Congress that CARE about our forests, our immigrants, our poor, our children, our veterans, our disabled, who care about US, ALL of us.

The top artwork is by: That artist is my friend Robert Bissell whose work is just extraordinary.  Thanks!! https://robertbissell.com/ (from Ali Van Zee)

Here are some organizations one can donate to that are local and care about our public lands:

Big Sur Land Trust: https://bigsurlandtrust.org/

Keep Big Sur Wild: https://www.keepbigsurwild.org/

Los Padres Forest Watch: https://forestwatch.org/

Ventana Wilderness Alliance: https://www.ventanawild.org/

Don’t give up. It takes US — all of us to fight this attack on our public lands and to our democracy. Don’t despair. We have hope and we are not done!

This map was created a month ago, and some changes have manifested since then. First, Rock Creek is now open in both directions, BUT there is still work going on there, so there may be flagging and delays.

On the South Coast, work at Shale Point is complete, but there is work going on at Mud Creek, including the bringing in of large boulders, presumably for shoring up the hillside. There may be flagging and delays in this area.

For those of you who will inevitably ask, no, there is no anticipated opening date for Regent’s Slide. It is still moving and Caltrans is still working. They are not even hazarding a guess at the moment.