A 12-mile section of Highway 1 in Big Sur is closed following a rockslide triggered by the recent deluge of Northern California rain.
The incident, first reported just before 6 a.m. Tuesday, occurred on the scenic coastal highway in southern Monterey County about two miles north of Ragged Point. As a result, Caltrans officials have temporarily closed a huge, miles-long section of Highway 1 starting at Gorda in Monterey County to Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County.
Southbound travel from Carmel-by-the-Sea to Gorda remains open.
It wasn't immediately clear when the rockslide itself happened.
"Right now, it's of some concern," Caltrans Spokesperson Kevin Drabinski told KCBS Radio. "[It's] not just the rock fall that's in the roadway, but the unstable ground on the slope immediately adjacent to the highway." Crews have brought in "heavy equipment and machinery to knock down any unstable slope area" across the entire section of Highway 1 that's closed, he added.
Caltrans expects Highway 1 will remain closed until Wednesday, Nov. 3. Teams have identified a large, undermined rock outcropping above the roadway that must be removed from the hillside and transported offsite. Once the rock is removed, crews will the nneed to assess the slope to determine if any additional protective measures need to be taken.
Crews are expected to work seven days a week before the reopening.
"Images of the rock fall make it look deceptively small," Drabinski said. "The real concern is what you can't appreciate unless you're a geotechnical person who works along the Big Sur coast."
A large section of Highway 1 famously washed out during a major winter storm last January. That completely rebuilt section – located near Rat Creek about 25 miles north of this rockslide – fared just fine over the weekend, he said.
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