After rock slide, most stretches of California’s Highway 1 reopen near Big Sur
A rock slide over the weekend left a two-mile stretch of California’s Highway 1 shut down Monday as authorities carried out cleanup work and assessed damage done to the road.
On Saturday afternoon, about 40 miles of the highway had been closed from Ragged Point to just south of Big Sur, according to Caltrans, though the road was open between Carmel and Big Sur.
The more limited road closure — from near the Big Creek Vista Point to near Dolan Point — went into effect Monday while crews cleaned up debris and repaired a damaged rock barrier at Cow Cliffs. A full reopening is expected by the end of Thursday, Caltrans said.
Large and small rocks had tumbled down the side of a mountain — and through a net meant to catch them —onto the highway, according to photos released by Caltrans. There were “dozens of areas of concern” when Caltrans assessed the damage Sunday. Geotechnical engineers returned Monday to inspect further, Caltrans said in a release.
Even you’ve already done the most obvious attractions — Hearst Castle in San Simeon, for instance — why not spend more time exploring roadside nooks and ocean-adjacent crannies along Highway 1?
The slides ranged from small rocks in the roadway to the most serious incident near Cow Cliffs, where a large rock “breached the containment area.”
The slide came as the Bay Area was pounded by rain Saturday, with the National Weather Service saying that rainfall was heaviest along Highway 1 near Big Sur, where it exceeded 5 inches in higher areas.
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