Video shows massive Big Sur landslide that has closed Highway 1 indefinitely

Highway 1 in Big Sur has been closed indefinitely after a massive and unprecedented landslide buried the iconic roadway under tons of dirt and debris and permanently changed the appearance of California’s coast.

Aerial footage shot by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office shows the magnitude of the slide, estimated to involve millions of cubic yard of earth, which is still too dangerous and unstable for crews to begin clearing.

“The slide went from bad to worse over the weekend and the video will give you a glimpse at the undertaking needed to open the road again. There are several trucks parked on the highway south of the slide for reference,” wrote a sheriff’s official Monday on Facebook.

The slide, which was reported Saturday, began after a rain-saturated hillside in an area called Mud Creek gave way and covered about a third of a mile of the highway with some 40 feet of earth.

The area is about nine miles south of the Monterey County border, officials said.

“We’ve never seen anything like that,” said California Department of Transportation spokesman Colin Jones to the Associated Press.

It will take some time to dig out Highway 1 after it was buried in an area called Mud Creek. (Caltrans)

The area was already closed for repairs after winter storms that pounded the region left the roadway buckled and caused previous slides of earth and rock. “Now it's covering 10 times as much,” said Jones.

Officials said there is currently no way to tell how long it will be before the slide is stable enough to be removed and Highway 1 can be reopened.

The president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce told The Mercury News that the roadway was closed for 14 months after a similar large slide happened in 1983.

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