Tag: Highway One

Here we go again, 11/30/12

1 pm – I contacted MoCo Rd re N-F, given the possible conditions on Highway One, and this is what they said: “Public Works crews are headed to N-F Road, should get there in about an hour. They’ll drive from East to West to check conditions. I won’t hear from them for hours, but I’ll let you know what I hear back.” Also, something is happening on Old Coast Rd, but can’t tell what. MoCo Rd advised, per CHP.

12:10 – 101 at Crazy Horse Canyon closed for an hour to remove debris CHP didn’t say if it was NB or SB.

Noon – Another cell phone alert. NOAA FLASH FLOOD Warning extended to 1:30 pm
NB 101 #2 lane north of Chualar is completely flooded. Water has been rising since 9 am, per CHP.

11:30 am – Rocky Creek is still open at this point, but my sources says there are rocks everywhere there could be rocks. More as things develop.

11 am – CT is calling it the Rocky Creek Closure. Not official, yet. I have sources headed that direction, will post as soon as I hear from them or get official notification.

20121130-105416.jpg

This is Juan Higuera Creek, photo by bigsurdeb. Thanks, deb!

10:30 am – per phone alert from NWS, flash flood warning extended until noon. Downloading a photo of Juan Higuera Creek which I will upload if I can! Internet is working, but slow and iffy.

10:00 am – CHP reporting mud/rock slide in Rocky Creek construction area. Spooky! This was removed from the site less than 5 mins after reported.

9:30 am – just got an alert to my cell phone that we have been upgraded from a flash flood watch to a flash flood warning until 10:30 am, which means flooding is imminent! The loud unusual beeping startled me, and it took a minute to figure out it was my phone!

9 am – There is a boulder down at Hurricane Point, some workers from town are reporting the Highway is a lake, but so far, no major slides reported. Probably some smaller ones I haven’t heard about. Flash Flood Watch still in effect here in Big Sur, LPNF, and Santa Lucia Mountains, so be careful out there! One friend in Big Sur Valley reported almost 2″ overnight. NOAA Big Sur RAWS reports just over 3″ in the last 24 hours. I haven’t checked mine, yet. Winds still a factor today, as well. As bigsurdeb says, ” Quack, quack.”

Here is today’s satellite photo from Dave Allan to show what is in store. It is a slow moving storm, so we will likely see heavy rain at times in certain areas.

20121130-091729.jpg

And here is the current NEXRAD

20121130-092431.jpg

Rocky Creek Viaduct update with photos

Below is an update I received today from one of the inspectors at the Rocky Creek jobsite:

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
“CIDH piles for bents 3, 4, 5 an 6 are complete. Contractor is currently working at bent 2 pile. The average production rate for the piles is still approximately 1 pile per week. However, bent 2 pile may take longer as drilling can only be performed during the night under full closure due to space constrains. Placement of the piles is on schedule.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

I have attached a photo below that illustrates this information:

(See attached file: Updated drilling locations.JPG)

Also, I’m going to be on a Monterey TV program tomorrow discussing the Rocky Creek project as well as the Pitkins Rock Shed project. Not sure if you can get this program where you are but I thought I’d mention it. Below is a link to more information.

http://montereytelevision.com/YourTown.htm

Have a good day!

Ken

20121127-190712.jpg

Also, here is a photo of a bridge showing the part labeled “the bent.”

20121128-110830.jpg

Rocky Creek Update #4

MONTEREY COUNTY – Daytime roadwork continues from 7am to 5 pm next Tuesday, Nov. 13 through Friday, Nov. 16. Overnight closures of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek (Mile Marker 59.5) are scheduled for four nights next week from Monday Nov. 12 through Thursday, Nov. 15 from 9 pm to 7 am each night.

Weather, road repair, and photos

First, could the weather be any more beautiful? But watch for a major change. According to several reports, I could have a sprinkling of snow by Friday morning – so time to stock my wood box, while the weather is so wonderful.

“The rain won’t be widespread, with most of the shower activity developing along the coastal mountains where snow levels will drop to 2,500 feet by Friday morning. Modest accumulations
of snow (2- and 4-inches) are possible Friday across the Sierra foothills with a dusting also possible in the coastal mountains of the Central Coast.”

And this is the view that greeted me at the bottom of my road

20121106-085159.jpg

Then I got to Alder Creek … You know the place, where that major slide happened? Was that just last year? Anyway, Cal Trans has put netting up along the whole slide, but was working it again. I stopped and took these two photos … Note the draping, the rock-catching drapery walls, and the two climbers in the bright yellow on the left.

20121106-091204.jpg

20121106-091533.jpg

Further down the road, the new chip sealing between the lighthouse and elephant seal beach was tying up traffic for 15-20 minutes. At least there was cell phone signal, so I could check email, surf (which I had not been able to do since Sat am at home) and all I had missed for a day and a half, so the time went by pretty fast.

Rocky Creek Viaduct web page

Cal Trans has established a web page devoted to this project. At the current time (I just checked it) it only has the artists rendering of how it will look when one is driving upon it. However, just today, Ken, the project manager, renewed his commitment to post all news releases and closure schedules on this page. I am posting a link here, but it will also “live” above in my permanent first post, called “Notices.”
Rocky Creek Viaduct Project
Bookmark it!

Further, Cal-Trans is announcing this afternoon that the first overnight closure has been moved up a day to Sunday October 14th, starting at 9 pm. Unless notified otherwise, assume that this is the beginning of the Sunday through Thursday closures, and that these overnight closures will last the rest of the week, opening up for Friday and Saturday.

Also note, we may have our first rain come in tomorrow. Will probably be scattered and not much, but anything to settle the dust will be most welcomed. Will check on this and post more later.

And another note, yesterday afternoon and evening saw two fires. One north at Jack’s Peak, and one south at Pico, just north of San Simeon. Both contained rapidly.

Jade Festival, 2012 & Rocky Creek Viaduct closure update

This morning, all campgrounds down here on the South Coast were full in anticipation of the Jade Festival. The heat wave has broken, so expect foggy and chilly mornings, burning off in the afternoon for beautiful sunshiny afternoons. The festival starts tomorrow at noon and continues Saturday and Sunday from 10-6 pm. Our wonderful Jewell of the South Coast is the featured star, with a supporting cast of great food, live music and wonderful friendly people. This is a family gathering, on a school, so no drugs or alcohol are permitted on site. Fur kids must be on a leash.

New schedule for viaduct closure:

Today’s Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012
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
HIGHWAY 1/ROCKY CREEK VIADUCT PROJECT IS UNDERWAY—
OVERNIGHT CLOSURES TO BEGIN OCTOBER 15

MONTEREY COUNTY – After further consultation with the contractor, the hours
for full closures of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek (PM 59.5) will be 9 pm to 7 am
beginning Monday, October 15 through the end of February, Caltrans
officials have announced.

Roadwork will occur seven days a week, 24/7 with one-way signalized traffic
control. Traffic will be stopped for 10 minutes at a time. However, full
overnight closures will take place five nights a week Sundays through
Thursdays. No full closures will occur on Friday/Saturday nights.

The project to construct a permanent viaduct about 15 miles south of Carmel
near the Rocky Creek Bridge along Highway 1 began on Sept. 4. Completion is
scheduled by Labor Day 2013, weather permitting.

Daily roadwork schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions
and other factors.

If my calculations are correct, that is four and one-half months of overnight closures, five days a week.

Rocky Creek Viaduct closure, press release number 1

This came yesterday, but I had already provided the basic info through advance notice and had some other things I wanted to post about. These notices of closures and the impact on community and visitors will hopefully develop a rhythm of their own, and I will only be posting about this once a week, but until that rhythm gets established, I’ll just go with it here.

“Today’s Date: Thursday, September 27, 2012
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

HIGHWAY 1/ROCKY CREEK VIADUCT PROJECT IS UNDERWAY—
OVERNIGHT CLOSURES TO BEGIN OCTOBER 11

MONTEREY COUNTY – Following the survey results from the Big Sur community,
the hours for full closures of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek will be 9 pm to 7 am
beginning Thursday, Oct. 11 through the end of February, Caltrans officials
have announced.

Roadwork will occur seven days a week, 24/7 with one-way signalized traffic
control. Traffic will be stopped for 10 minutes at a time. However, full
overnight closures will take place five nights a week Sundays through
Thursdays.

The project to construct a permanent viaduct about 15 miles south of Carmel
near the Rocky Creek Bridge along Highway 1 began on Sept. 4. Completion is
scheduled by Labor Day 2013, weather permitting.

This project came about after a roadway slipout caused severe damage to the
southbound lane and required Hwy. 1 to be closed from north of Big Sur and
south of Carmel at Rocky Creek from March 17 through April 16, 2011. The
contractor for this $12 million project is Golden State Bridge Inc. of
Martinez, CA

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 notifications.

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

For more information, please visit: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/
or contact the Hwy. 1 Cambria to Carmel Toll-Free Hotline at 888-836-0866.”

First overnight closure set for Rocky Creek

The first over night closure is set for the week of Oct. 8th. The exact date and time have not yet been decided, so make plans as you can.

The Road that Defies Gravity: Closures, delays, and other adventures on Highway One

By now, we are all familiar with the delays and closures that have been going on at Pitkin’s Curve and Rain Rocks south of Lucia for the last year – we still have about six months left to go here. The same thing is about to happen at Rocky Creek for the next year. A meeting is scheduled for 10 am this morning at the Big Sur Lodge to address issues and concerns about this construction, delays, and night closures. Steve Price will be leading the discussion. Maybe finishing this project in a year is too ambitious if it requires so many 10-hour night closures.

Also, for those who regularly travel to Cambria and other southern ports, be aware that Monday, 9/17, starting at 7:00 am, there will be delays of up to 1/2 hour between the county line just north of Ragged Point, to Hearst Castle, while Cal-Trans chip seals the road.

Finally, at the Alder Creek slide, starting on Monday, 9/24, there will be delays for about a month while Cal-Trans installs more rock slide netting at this location.

What can we expect when this road continues to march to the sea? Make sure and use the facilities at every opportunity, bring reading material, plan your trips accordingly, and make sure to bring an extra stash of patience and humor! A town run north or south now, rivals what used to be a trip to The City (SF) in the past, at least for length of time on the road!

Bicycle accident at Mud Creek

9/14 5 pm update – see the comments below for an update on the bicyclist’s condition. Thank you, April, and please keep us posted!

2:30 pm update – the man was airlifted to the trauma center, where he is presumably being treated. The 37-year-old man was from Southern California. He was wearing a helmet, and one witness said it probably saved his life.

Noon – about an hour or more ago, there was a serious bicycle accident near mud creek, just north of Sea View ranch. Witnesses to the crash said the bicyclist, a 37-year old volunteer firefighter (not one of ours) seized up, just before the crash. He suffered serious head injuries. No vehicle was involved. Rescuers were hoping to have him air-lifted to the trauma center in San Jose. I did see a helicopter heading north, flying low over me that I suspect was transporting the victim. People who stopped to help included an RN, a pediatrician, and a CT worker who was able to use the satellite phone to contact 911, as there is no cell phone service in much of the south coast highway segment. Also stopping to help was our own local Elaine Peltier, who has had some training and always carries a space blanket and surgical gloves in her vehicle.