Tue March 09, 2021 - West Edition #6
Caltrans
After assessing the damage, removing debris and making minor repairs, Caltrans will reconnect
the roadway at Rat Creek
with an enhanced fill option.
Caltrans announced that major emergency repairs of Highway 1 on the Big Sur Coast at Rat Creek have begun and that it estimates it will reopen the famed roadway early this summer.
Debris flow from the Dolan Fire burn scar washed out a 150-ft. section of roadway on Jan. 28, causing a full closure.
Caltrans estimates the repairs will cost $11.5 million, including $5 million in ongoing emergency repairs north of Rat Creek. The contractor is Papich Construction of Arroyo Grande.
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Scenic Highway 1 near Big Sur to reopen this summer
Feb. 26, 2021 5 AM PT
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Caltrans is estimating it can reopen Highway 1 and reconnect Southern California with Big Sur and points beyond by early summer.
The highway
closed Jan. 28 after a 150-foot section at Rat Creek was washed out by heavy rains that caused debris flow at the creek in Monterey County.
A 150-foot section on Highway 1 collapsed.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
In a news release Thursday, Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said, “We’re focused on restoring travel on this section by early summer.” The repair cost is estimated at $11.5 million, involving “the manipulation of tens of thousands of cubic yards of material.”
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However, officials also warned that more wet weather could slow the work.
“We know that seasonally, March is a heavy rain month, and we’re moving a lot of dirt around,” said Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski. Still, he added, “We estimate that by the middle of summer it will be open.”
The highway has been closed since the washout, beginning with a 23-mile shutdown. But workers have gradually reduced the number of closed miles.
Going forward, Caltrans said about five miles of the highway will be closed to all traffic (including pedestrians and bicycles), with northbound traffic blocked at Big Creek Vista Point (Monterey County mile post 27.3). Southbound traffic is blocked at the Lime Creek Bridge (milepost 32.1).