Tag: Highway One

Cal Trans occupies Bixby Bridge today, 10/30/18

Here are some photos Nadine Clark took this am, 10/31/18 at the bridge:

 

And here is one by Ken Ekelund:

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When I drove by today around 12:30 or so, Cal Trans completely blocked off and/or occupied ALL parking places near the bridge, even on the north bound side, all the way around the corner. They also blocked off OCR completely for parking/gawking/stopping. I was driving my huge new Sprinter van by myself, so no way to get photos without stopping in the middle of the road like a tourist. So I didn’t. But if any of you local passengers got a shot, please ship it off to me. You know all my addresses…

I guess after Lisa Krieger’s article last Friday, then the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisrory Council meeting the same day, I guess they heard us.

Also at the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council meeting, Cal Trans announced that if they get an extreme weather advisory from NOAA, they would be locking the gates on both sides of Paul’s Slide and Mud Creek.They haven’t said anything yet, but I’m betting if there is an extreme event, Gray Slip may let go, too. Might not even take an extreme event.  Suzana promised me an official announcement by tomorrow re this gating.

Found Dog

UPDATE: Polar and her owner, Derek Waters were reunited this afternoon. Thanks everyone for all the help!

Know this dog and who her owner is?

”I’m a ranger with State Parks here in Big Sur.  This morning, someone dropped a big white dog named Polar at the Pfeiffer Big Sur kiosk.  She weighs about 100 pounds and has a rabies vaccine tag from Grass Valley and 707 and 831 phone numbers, neither of which were answered. The good samaritan said he found her walking on Hwy. 1 near the Henry Miller Library.”

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Hot on the heels of the last bicycle ride is another tomorrow

Apparently, this is different than the CAF Million Dollar Ride that was held this past Saturday and Sunday.  This is called the Ride 2 Recovery.

Today’s Date: Monday, October 15, 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 (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

RIDE 2 RECOVERY BICYCLE RIDE ON CENTRAL COAST THIS WEEK

CENTRAL COAST – The Ride 2 Recovery Bicycle Ride will move through Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties this week in the following locations:

  • On Monday, Oct. 15, the riders will use State Route 1 from Santa Cruz to Carmel.
  • On Tuesday, Oct. 16, the riders will use State Route 1 from Carmel to San Simeon.
  • On Wednesday, Oct. 17, the riders will use State Route 1 from San Simeon to Pismo Beach.
  • On Thursday, Oct. 18, the riders will use State Route 1, 154 and 246 from Pismo Beach to Solvang.
  • On Friday, Oct. 19, the riders will use State Route 154, 246 and US Highway 101 to travel from Solvang to Ventura County.

This ride will include injured military veterans and first responders who will be escorted by the American Legion and other support vehicles. Everyone should ‘Share the Road’.

Gray Slip, A perspective

There is a historical slide south of Mud Creek that many of you may not have heard of, or may not remember. This is Gray Slip. Madonna dug into this area during the repairs to Mud Creek to obtain dirt (as if there wasn’t enough at Mud Creek?) and transport it back to Mud Creek. Rock Knocker watched from above many times as they would bring a load of dirt from Gray Slip to Mud Creek, and then turn around and do it all over again. He couldn’t figure out why they did that, and to this day does not know why.

Rock Knocker went through some of his old Gray Slip photos, and I found some in an album I put together of a few of the major slides from 1980-1993. I also have an album I made from the El Niño of 1995. I did some online research and found a couple studies from 2001 re the major slides (40 page report I downloaded into iBooks; here is a link I found to the report so that you can download it. http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/landslides/Caltrans/SR_185/CT001mon%20Report.pdf

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and another one on Erosion and Revegetation Management Report done by CSUMB and Rana Creek Restoration and Paul Kephardt done in Dec. 2000. (http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=37877 ) Both provide some interesting insights into what we may see this winter in this spot and others.

This is a shot of Gray Slip from above taken this summer:

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You can see all the water in the pit Madonna dug here in this photo from July. There are other areas not in this photo that are also showing water coming out, even now, in October, after a very dry summer season.

Earlier this month, Rock Knocker and I were coming back from a town trip south, and I asked if he could stop so I could take some photos. I had noticed quite a bit of water coming out of the hill, and noticed the cracks above where the Madonna team had dug out a pit in the mountain. I wanted to document this. He walked up and took photos on 10/8/18. He hiked up even further on 10/13/18 and took even more photos.

Throughout the coming weeks, I will be posting some of the historical photos I have of this area, some of the photos and data charts from the 2 studies mentioned above, and after I have done that, I will share some of this month’s photos. This project will take me a few weeks to complete.

Annnddd…another one – Film shoot for Weds at Bixby

At least this one is making a donation to the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade for our troubles, but still…

Good morning!

I am reaching out to all of you to advise of an upcoming TV commercial filming project on Hwy 1 / Bixby Bridge.
We have been working closely with the California Film Commission, the Monterey County Film Commission, CalTrans,The California Highway Patrol, the County of Monterey, The Monterey County Sheriffs Department, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary on obtaining all the needed permits for a one day shoot on October 3rd at the Bixby Bridge.
I have attached a notification form below that details the specifics of the project, but basically it will be a single afternoon of filming on October 3rd.
We will have 4 CHP officers on scene to assist with safety and limited duration traffic control.
There will be filming of a motorcycle driving across the bridge from a camera car, and from static camera positions both on Hwy 1 and on Old Coast Road. There will also be a couple shots with a small drone (FAA licensed and not flying over the water). The craft is quite small and quiet.
There will be a small section of the south side of Old Coast Road just to the east of Hwy 1 posted for no parking during the shoot.
We are very sensitive to, and aware of the very busy nature of the location and will insure that delays are kept to a minimum and that residents and visitors will be able to get into the area with delays not exceeding 3-5 minutes at a time. And since school buses come through that area in the afternoon we will always release traffic when we see a school bus approaching.
Our main base camp and parking area will be on private property off site – south of the bridge – so as to minimize impact on the immediate area.
In consideration of the project, and as a gesture to the community, we are going to be making a donation to the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade.
Thank you for your understanding – we hope to make our short time at the Bixby Bridge a smooth experience for all!
all the best,

Arthritis Foundation Bicycle Ride comes to Big Sur

The days and dates of the Big Sur portion of the ride are next Monday and Tuesday.

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION BICYCLE RIDE MOVES THROUGH CENTRAL COAST
CENTRAL COAST – The Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour will move through Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties beginning Saturday, Sept. 22 through Friday, Sept. 28 in the following locations:
 
Saturday, Sept. 22:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from San Mateo County to the City of Santa Cruz.
 
Sunday, Sept. 23:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in to Carmel in Monterey County.
 
Monday, Sept. 24:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Carmel to Big Sur in Monterey County.
 
Tuesday, Sept. 25: The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Big Sur to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County
 
Wednesday, Sept. 26:  The cyclists will use Highway 1 south from Cambria to Oceano in San Luis Obispo County.
 
Thursday, Sept. 27:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Oceano, State Route 166  from Guadalupe and State Route 1 towards Orcutt before crossing State Route 154 west of Los Olivos before arriving in Buellton in Santa Barbara County.                                                                                
 
Friday, Sept. 28: The cyclists will use State Route 246 from Buellton and US 101 through Santa Barbara to Ventura County.
 
In addition, the southbound #2 (right) lane of US Highway 101 at the Arroyo Quemada Bridge in Santa Barbara County will be closed on Friday, Sept. 28 between the hours of 8 am and 12 noon to allow the cyclists to safely proceed where the shoulder width is narrow.
 
Law enforcement and ride officials will be located along the route to ensure the safety of motorists, participants and pedestrians.  Motorists are advised to be aware of the riders as they move through the area and to ‘Share the Road’.
 
For traffic updates on other state highways on the Central Coast, 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/maint/road/upslo.htm

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.