Particle.news
Download on the App Store
17 ARTICLES
·
5d ago

Highway 1 Through Big Sur Fully Reopens Three Years After Landslides

Officials warn that winter storms could still force temporary closures.

Aerial shot of Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur coast of California on a sunny afternoon.
Caltrans has worked since January 2023 to remove a landslide that spilled onto the highway at Paul’s Slide during a major storm.
FILE - Cones mark a break in the southbound lane of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek Bridge in Big Sur, Calif., April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
Crews work on top of Regent’s Slide, above Highway 1 in Big Sur, in 2024. The highway is just reopening.

Overview

  • Barricades came down at noon Wednesday, reopening the final 6.8–7 mile Regent’s Slide segment and restoring through travel between Carmel and Cambria.
  • Caltrans finished roughly three months earlier than its late‑March goal, with repairs estimated at about $60 million.
  • Stabilization used remote‑controlled bulldozers, thousands of steel bars drilled up to 60 feet, concrete, mesh and real‑time monitoring prisms, and officials reported no major injuries.
  • Crews recently cleared about 6,000 cubic yards of debris from winter storms as they prepared the roadway for traffic.
  • Local businesses and residents reported sharp losses and long detours during the closure and now anticipate a slow recovery, even as the USGS identifies 75 miles of this coast as highly slide‑prone.