Cal Trans provides lengthy analysis of several trouble spots

Thank you, Susana, this is very thoughtful and informative. I, for one, really appreciate it.

Good morning everyone,

Our noontime update for all Hwy. 1 is coming; however, this is a much lengthier explanation from Geotech/Maintenance Design for you as locals…that may “see” the roadway better than it actually is.

From the south, then:

PM 8.9 is very rough. The pavement has heaved up like very large speed bumps, at three distinct spots. This will be a challenge for any low riding vehicles. This location has only dirt haul work going on today into early next week when we will have a driller on site taking up one lane, under one way traffic, controlled by flaggers. Keeping in mind that if it is raining, we will not be on site. Also, possibly middle of next week, pipe culvert materials may be arriving for replacing the two failed culverts at the southerly end of Mud Creek landslide. This will require excavation of what could be a rocky fill to get to the old culverts. They are about 8 feet deep, but the possibility for rocks in the fill might make it difficult to span the excavation with steel plates and allow for vehicle passages during these 2-day operations (for each cross culvert). Again, we do not yet have these culvert pipes on site yet and they could be arriving later than next week, so we will keep you posted on that. Drilling is expected to take 6 days, once it begins and weather permitting. They have delayed their start a couple of times and as of my latest info, we are expecting them to being Tuesday, 7Feb2016

PM 14.4, Culvert replacement JNO Sand Dollar is starting today. This too is a shallow culvert and we expect to be done here by the end of this week, weather permitting. Flagging is protecting the work here and steel plates are on site to allow for vehicles to go through. If all goes well, this should be a three day operation.

PM 21.6, Paul’s slide has only one lane available to traffic. We are supposed to have one way traffic controlled by flaggers today and each day the crews are working. The dirt haul from Mud Creek is to Willow ck. and I believe they are also moving spoils from Paul’s slide to willow ck., too.

PM 28.3, Cow Cliff has a large hole in the rock fall netting. The pavement has been repaired and most of the slide material has been moved off of the surface of the travel way, so the road appears to be open. However, with the netting down and more weather coming, we are offering no assurances that more rocks and material will not come down onto the road. There is hard closure at Dolan Pt. (for southbound traffic) and Maintenance is supposed to have placed one at the Big Creek Bridge (for the northbound). To clarify our delay in starting work here, the chute above the damaged netting cannot be scaled, as we’ve done at other sites. It is outside of what would be considered okay for worker safety. The materials for this repair are being ordered now and this highly technical installation will begin as soon as materials begin arriving. The contractor is standing by.

On last reminder, if it is raining we will not be on site. There is too much unstable material above and below the roadway at mud creek and at Paul’s slide. The road will be closed during rain from Ragged Pt. (SLO 72.87) to Dolan Pt. (PM 29.7)

Susana Z. Cruz nature-flower-blue-motif[1]
Caltrans District 5
Acting Manager
Public Information Office

Cal Trans Update, 1/19/17

Attached is a picture from yesterday morning (Wednesday, Jan. 18) of the Nepenthe Slide Clean Up (PM 43.91)

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HERE IS TODAY’S HWY. 1 CLOSURE UPDATE FOR THURSDAY, JAN. 19:

State Route 1 continues to be closed from Ragged Point (SLO PM 72.87) to Lucia (MON PM 23.00) due to rock/mudslides in multiple locations.

Motorists may travel south on Hwy. 1 from Carmel to Lucia or travel north from Cambria to Ragged Point.

In addition there is a full closure on Hwy. 1 at Mud Creek (MON PM 8.88) due to a mud/rock slides within the existing boundary of this closure.

For the time being, Hwy 1 is open to LOCAL RESIDENTS traveling south from Monterey who can safely get around via escort/flagger around the closure at Paul’s slide (MON PM 21.6) down to Gorda (PM 10) between 8 am until 4 pm.

Another update will be provided tomorrow afternoon, Friday, Jan. 20 or sooner if conditions change.

Welcome new Cal Trans Supervisors!

From Cal Trans: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Pryor as the new Maintenance Supervisor for the Willow Springs Maintenance crew effective October 1, 2016. Scott is currently the Leadworker in King City. Scott is a local King City resident. He and his family are looking forward to his new adventures on the Big Sur coast.”

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“Also, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Heath Johnston as the new Maintenance Supervisor for Big Sur effective October 1, 2016. Heath is currently the Leadworker for Big Sur Maintenance and is enjoying his new life on the coast with his gal Meg and Dog Blaze.”

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Welcome to the coast, Scott, and welcome to your new position, Heath. Look forward to working with both of you this winter to keep travelers aware of any issues with our Highway.
 

Soberanes Fire, Day 61, 9/20/16

 

Afternoon from John Chesnut. If you are reading this, John, your maps are absolutely invaluable to me and others. Thank you.

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**From US NationalWeather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California**

RED FLAG WARNING FOR the Soberanes Fire area from 3:00 pm Wednesday, September 21 through 9:00 pm Thursday for strong NW winds.

9:50 am – new statement from the USFS: “Unfavorable weather conditions and strong NSW winds, carried embers across the control line near Chews Ridge and into heavy fuels. This wind event produced a spot fire on the east side of the dozer/containment line resulting in a new evacuation order. In addition, two evacuation warnings were issued.”

On the Evacs, they had this to say: “A new evacuation order was issued for the east side of Tassajara Road from Chews Ridge to Bruce Ranch. Bruce Ranch east along Anastasia Canyon to Carmel Valley Road. Carmel Valley Road south from Anastasia Canyon to Tash Ranch.
New Evacuation Warnings were issued from:
North of Carmel Valley Road from Hastings Preserve, from Cahoon Ranch east to Tash Ranch.
The Evacuation Order for Tassajara Road south of Chews Ridge remains in effect.
The Evacuation warning for the east side of the fire near Arroyo Seco, southwest of East Carmel Valley Road starting at the intersection of East Carmel Valley Road and Piney Creek Road, extending east to the Arroyo Seco Road remains in effect. As well as the warning for the Arroyo Seco Road from East Carmel Valley Road extending west past the Arroyo Seco Campground.”

8:30 am – There is a fire hotline I would encourage you to call to express your concerns, frustrations, and to ask questions. I will be in and out today with the life of country living (frig went out, hose nossels broke, you know the routine). That number is: 831-204-0446. Share your observations in the comment sections and I will check in to my email for any photos sent – I will create a new post for those immediately.

Here is John Chesnut’s Map for this morning:

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Before the maps, last night-early this am, MCSO issued an evacuation order: “The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is ordering an evacuation for the east side of Tassajara rd from Chews Ridge to Bruce Ranch, east along Anastasia Cyn to CVR and south to Tash Ranch. Any questions call 831/204-0446.” There is also an evacuation warning for an area of Carmel Valley Road. “Evacuation warning has been issued for north of Carmel Valley Rd. from Hastings Reserve to the Cahoon Ranch.” From someone who got a reverse 911 last night/early am.

Here is the evacuation map. Yellow is evacuation order and light blue is evacuation warning:

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Evacuation Map in PDF

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IR Map in PDF

Here is the helicopter IR flight at 4 pm – it wasn’t posted until 10:30 last night:

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VETS Helicopter IR in PDF

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Operations Map in PDF

Soberanes Fire, Day 38, 8/28/16

7:00 pm – Okay, I am back. I was off to Carmel Valley to the Folktales Winery for a lovely afternoon of music, wine, food, and great people. I met so many people I had only “met” online before. It was a real treat, and so nice to take the day off. In any event, there is a community meeting at MAF tomorrow night, and a new evac warning issued which I posted separately. Here is the meeting notice;

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9:00 am – photo back behind Partington taken by Sula Nichols’s daughter Layla. So sad.

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9:00 am – finally got the IR Topo map up this morning.

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IR Topo Map link to PDF

There is no available IR Topo map this morning at 5:30 am. I will try again later, but Today, starting about 10 am, I will be offline much of the day so that I can attend the Folktales Winery Soberanes Fire Fundraiser.

Here is the South Ops Map:

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So Ops Map in PDF

Here are the Fire and Weather Behavior forecasts for today:

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Overuse of Big Sur

Here’s one person’s solution. I grabbed this off of FB:

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The first agency/residents meeting will take place later this week. Unfortunately, I have to attend a funeral so will not be able to attend. Representative residents from both the North and South Coast will be in attendance.The meeting venue is small, so I don’t believe it will be open to everyone who is interested, at this juncture. At least we are finally getting some dialogue going after last month’s meeting.

Highway One Road Work Tentative Schedule thru June

SLIDE REPAIR PROJECT ALONG HIGHWAY 1 BETWEEN MOLERA ROAD NEAR MARINA AND THE MONTEREY/SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY LINE—BEGINS MONDAY, MAY 2

MONTEREY COUNTY – A lengthy, slide repair project along the Highway 1 coast between Molera Rd. near Marina and the Monterey/San Luis Obispo County line will begin Monday, May 2, Caltrans officials announced today.

Roadwork will take place Monday through Friday and consist of one-way traffic control between the hours of 7 am and 4 pm. Motorists can expect delays not to exceed 15 minutes. Electronic message signs will be posted alerting motorists of the work. Below is a tentative schedule for the next few weeks but dates and locations are subject to change, depending on the time required to complete each section.

May 2 – PM 51.2 (Molera) to 49.03 (River Inn)
May 3 – PM 49.03 (River Inn) to 48.03 (Big Sur Library)
May 4 – PM 48.03 (Library) to 48.85 (Brewer Bridge)
May 5 – PM 48.85 to 47.3 (Fernwood)
May 6 – PM 47.3 to 46.35 (Big Sur Station)

May 9 – 46.35 to 45.52 (Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge)
May 10 – 45.52 to 44.9 (Post Ranch)
May 11 – 44.9 to 43.91 (Nepenthe)
May 12 – 43.91 to 43.17 (Big Sur Inn)
May 13 – 43.17 to 42.15 (Fullers)

May 16 – 42.15 to 39.72 (Torre Canyon Bridge)
May 17 – 42.15 to 39.72 (Torre Canyon Bridge)
May 18 – 39.72 to 38.69 (Partington Ridge Road)*
May 19 – Move to Willow Springs Area PM 10.00 (Gorda) to PM 8.88 (Mud Creek)
May 20 – 8.88 to 6.8 (Grey’s Slip)
*NOTE: Crews are aware and will work around the AMGEN tour.

The purpose of this roadwork is to improve traveler safety by making highway repairs. Roadwork is being done by the Big Sur and Willow Springs Maintenance crews. This project is scheduled to be complete in June. An update will be provided next month with the final weeks’ schedule.

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

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 1-831-372-0862 or can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon.

Susana Z. Cruz
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer/
Portavoz de Relaciones Públicas
para Caltrans en el Distrito 5
805. 549.3138
805.549.3326–fax
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Active Slide at Mud Creek

I heard about this earlier today from one of our locals, but here is the official word. (Mud Creek is by Sea View Ranch.)

There is an active slide at PM 8.88 south of Gorda. The entire NB lane was blocked off with an earth berm to prevent material from blocking the entire roadway. We have coned the area off and the Highway will remain open for the time being. The SB lane and a portion of the shoulder are clear. The Willow Springs crew will be out first thing in the morning to access and clean up.

Thanks.

Greg DeAlba Jr.
Supervisor
Willow Springs and Big Sur Maintenance

Paul’s Slide, MM 22, photos

The traveling public making it difficult for Cal Trans to keep up with road work. Photos by Brendon Shave.

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Highway One Road Conditions, 1/19/16

9:30 pm – Hard Closure to last until midnight – 2 am, according to a local who drove there and asked.

HIGHWAY ONE TO CLOSE AT 6:00 PM – Hard Closure at Fernwood to clear tree and fix power lines. Stay tuned to CHP site.

4:30 pm – PGE, Our Great ever-present BSVFD, and CT dealing with wires down across both lanes near Fernwood. Power to be turned back on when resolved.

there is also a slide at MM 44.30, per CHP, which is approximately 1/2.mile south of Ventana. There are other unreported slides, according to my son who just got back from town.

REMEMBER, CAL-TRANSCDOES NOT PATROL AFTER DARK, and with so much rain from this storm (5″ in many places on the South Coast) these slides are only just beginning! Even tomorrow, when there will be a break in the rain, slides will be occurring. BE SAFE OUT THERE!