Because we get a few questions every year about road trips up and down coastal Hwy 1 in California, I thought I’d share the recent news following this week’s storm. Another huge piece of road experienced a washout and the road is closed south of Big Sur.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Highway-1-weather-storm-closed-Rat-Creek-Big-Sur-15908140.php
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4581 posts
Yikes. Sadly, September 2019 was our most recent vacation (not including quarantining in our backyard) and we drove the PCH from Santa Cruz to Ventura. Happily the whole highway was still there.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17418 posts
Here is more information, including a link to a map of the location.
This is not going to be a quick fix.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2404 posts
hey hey
thanks mona and lola for the sites and pictures. heard road washout in aptos and PG&E truck went down into the ravine. we had the fence along the house lean into side, handyman came to push back with some lumber until weather clears. plus 7 feet of snow going to tahoe with roads closed, friends were so anxious to go play in snow, got to sacramento and turned back. traffic at standstill, snow will still be there,
stay safe everyone and slow down on the slippery roads.
aloha
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
A bottomless sinkhole!
Posted by
CA
2141 posts
This was going to be a day ride for us this winter to escape the house. We live in Santa Barbara. It looks like a major repair that’ll take a long time.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7146 posts
Not a good day to take a drive down that part of the coastal highway.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11873 posts
The detour signs will be quite weathered before they are taken down
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3560 posts
I was so shocked to see this on the news yesterday. That is one big washout! Glad no one was hurt.
We drove hwy 1 in December 2019, from Hemet to San Simeon so did not get quite this far up the hwy, but we are certainly planning it for the future.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
Well yes, that is one big bit of damage, which will certainly require a major and lengthy project. Will the State of California ever decide that this wonderful scenic road simply cannot be maintained in perpetuity? The road from the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel is still open through Big Sur and Esalen, including beautiful scenery, various parks, restaurants for outside dining, and to some limited degree, hotels.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
For those interested, CalTrans announced their plan for repairing the damage to Highway 1 by Big Sur. They are planning a large amount of fill, with one or more major culverts to allow storm water to flow through. This method will evidently be both faster and less expensive than building a bridge. The projection is to complete the project and open the highway sometime this summer, at a cost of $11.5 million. I’m no expert, but both of those projections sound mighty ambitious and optimistic to me.
Posted by
San Francisco area
1888 posts
The recent lack of rain has allowed Caltrans to finish up the repair work earlier than anticipated. It should reopen tomorrow.