BIG SUR – A closure on Highway 1 of about 12 miles continues as Caltrans works to right the roadway from the affects of three landslides along the Central California coastline, but the highway remains open for the vast majority of the rest of the road.
Progress at the the three slide locations – Paul’s Slide, Dolan Point Slide and Regent’s Slide – has been delayed by a series of recent storm events, but progress at each site was safeguarded and a return to production in the immediate aftermath of rainy weather was possible.
But slide activity is not necessarily tied to rain events and can happen long after.
“The Dolan and Regent’ slides happened in the aftermath of rain events, but water can percolate for weeks and months working its way in,” said Caltrans District 5 spokesperson Kevin Drabinski. “That’s another reason we see slide activity in spring and summer as well. Water channels through dirt and loosens up soil.”
Drabinski said March is historically one of the rainiest points of the winter season on the Big Sur Coast.
“We don’t know what the rest of March will bring,” he said.
Highway 1 remains open from the Monterey/Carmel area to just south of the Esalen Institute and from the Cambria/San Simeon area to just south of Limekiln State Park. But as a result of the ongoing repair work at the three slide sites, the northern closure point on Highway 1 remains at Lime Creek at post mile 32.1. The southern closure point remains at post mile 20, just south of Limekiln State Park, making for a 12.1-mile closure on the coast.
Drabinski said that last year saw four major slides along Highway 1 in Monterey County including Paul’s Slide, and this year there have been two major slides – Dolan Point and Regent’s – that have added to the Caltrans repair workload.
For more than a year, crews have been at work to repair a slide that saw 500,000 cubic yards of material take out Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide, post mile 22. According to Caltrans, crews have continued to make progress working 7 days a week to reach its goal for a full reopening of Highway 1 there by late spring this year. The state agency said that rock-scaling crews brought down material from the slopes above the repair site in late February as slide activity has continued to be a feature that has consistently accompanied these repairs.
Daily convoys have continued to be scheduled through Paul’s Slide in the north and southbound direction at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to Caltrans. These convoys allow for local residents living north of Paul’s Slide to travel south through Paul’s Slide to secure supplies now that travel to the north is blocked by the Dolan Point and Regent’s slides. Because passage through Paul’s Slide is by way of a dirt roadbed, convoys will continue as long as site conditions and weather make for safe travel.
The northernmost of the three repair sites is at the Dolan Point Slide at post pmle 29.5. Caltrans says crews have continued to haul slide material away from the site as spider excavators have worked their way down the slope. Crews have also been able to loosen debris material using equipment stationed in the roadway. Over the next few weeks crews expect to complete the slide repair and install a drapery system over the face of the slide to protect the highway from any rockfall in the future. The final installation of the drapery system will be completed once an assist helicopter has been scheduled. Repairs are estimated to be completed at the Dolan Point Slide by May 1.
At the Regent’s Slide, post mile 27.8, drone radar surveys have been completed, and the data collected has been processed and is being used int the development of a final repair design, says Caltrans. Parallel efforts are being made to secure necessary environmental clearances for the repair work to begin. Over the coming weeks, it is expected that a final repair design will be completed and once approval from relevant environmental agencies has been issued, an estimate will be provided for the completion of repairs at Regent’s Slide.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.