BIG SUR — California transportation officials are targeting mid-September for reopening a stretch of iconic Highway 1 in the Big Sur region that was blocked almost a year ago by a massive landslide following winter storms.
The slide has hindered visitors and hurt businesses on the major tourism route among classic California coastal vistas and landmarks between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The California Department of Transportations estimate for reopening the highway is subject to change, however, The Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported Monday.
“Caltrans will continuously evaluate the opening date as work progresses,” agency spokeswoman Susana Cruz said in an email.
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In a March. 8, 2018 photo, crews work to finish up the massive seawall at the base of the Mud Creek Slide on the Big Sur Coast of Calif. Highway 1 has been dogged by slides since December 2016, but the one that hit at Mud Creek near Ragged Point in May 2017 was monumental. (Joe Johnston /The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
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In a March. 8, 2018 photo, the work road near the north side of Highway 1 is covered in debris as work above the road continues to release loose debris as part of the construction process at the Mud Creek Slide on the Big Sur Coast of Calif. (Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
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In a Jan. 4, 2018 photo, near the base of the Mud Creek Slide, a loader with rocks reverses down an access road to add to the armoring along the beach at on the Big Sur Coast of Calif. (Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
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In a March. 8, 2018 photo, crews work to finish up the massive seawall at the base of the Mud Creek Slide on the Big Sur Coast of Calif. Highway 1 has been dogged by slides since December 2016, but the one that hit at Mud Creek near Ragged Point in May 2017 was monumental.(Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
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In a March. 8, 2018 photo, earthen platforms called baskets, are being created to catch rock and debris that continue to fall at the Mud Creek Slide on the Big Sur Coast of Calif. (Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP)
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FILE – In this May 24, 2017 file photo Bret Haney, construction inspector with Caltrans, looks at the south side of a landslide after a massive slide went into the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur, Calif. California transportation officials are targeting mid-September for reopening a stretch of iconic Highway 1 in the Big Sur region that was blocked almost a year ago by a massive landslide following winter storms.(Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Luis Obispo) via AP,File)
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FILE – In this May 24, 2017 file photo, waves crash on the shore after a massive landslide that went into the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur, Calif. California transportation officials are targeting mid-September for reopening a stretch of iconic Highway 1 in the Big Sur region that was blocked almost a year ago by a massive landslide following winter storms. (Joe Johnston/The Tribune (of San Louis Obispo) via AP,File)
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FILE – In this May 25, 2017 file photo, a drilling crew takes soil samples on the southern end of the Mud Creek slide as it covers Highway 1, in southern Monterey County on the coast in Big Sur, Calif. California transportation officials are targeting mid-September for reopening a stretch of iconic Highway 1 in the Big Sur region that was blocked almost a year ago by a massive landslide following winter storms. (Vern Fisher/The Monterey County Herald via AP,File)
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FILE – This aerial file photo taken May 22, 2017 provided by John Madonna shows a massive landslide along Californias coastal Highway 1 that has buried the road under a 40-foot layer of rock and dirt. California transportation officials are targeting mid-September for reopening the stretch of iconic Highway 1 in the Big Sur region that was blocked almost a year ago by a massive landslide following winter storms. (John Madonna via AP, File)
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Another update will be issued in July, and even after the reopening, lane closures and road work could continue, Cruz said.
Highway 1 has been dogged by slides since December 2016, but the one that hit at Mud Creek near Ragged Point in May 2017 was monumental. Millions of tons of earth moved, displacing a total of 75 acres of land.
The vast amount of material buried the highway perched on the slopes of mountains rising dramatically out of the Pacific.
The debris slid well out into the ocean, creating 15 acres of new coastline about 9 miles north of the Monterey-San Luis Obispo county line.
Caltrans has since been working to stabilize the slide in order to rebuild the highway over it. The work included building a massive rock seawall at the foot of the slide.
Cruz wrote that new stabilizing features include embankments, berms, rocks and netting.
“This strategy is allowing Caltrans to rebuild the road more quickly and at a lower cost than other alternatives such as structures, a tunnel or major earthwork that puts additional fill into the ocean,” she wrote.
The work is being done about 25 miles south of where another segment of the highway was blocked when a storm-spawned landslide wrecked a bridge in early 2017. Last October, Caltrans opened a $24 million replacement span designed without support columns that could be vulnerable to future slides.
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