Date: Monday, April 30, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPDATE
Caltrans [California Dept. of Transportation] Continues Efforts to Rebuild and Reopen Highway 1 at Mud Creek
New Estimated Opening Slated for Fall 2018
BIG SUR, MONTEREY COUNTY – As Caltrans continues efforts to rebuild and re-open Highway 1 at Mud Creek, the Department has announced a new target of mid-September to get lanes re-opened to traffic.
Department officials announced last August that a new ¼-mile roadway will traverse the site of the massive Mud Creek slide.
The new roadway will be realigned across the landslide and will be buttressed with a series of embankments, berms, rocks, netting, culverts and other stabilizing material according to department engineers and geologists.
This strategy is allowing Caltrans to rebuild the roadway 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.
“Our commitment is rebuilding Highway 1 and restoring traffic along the Big Sur Coast that has been cut off from the south since April 2017,” said Caltrans Acting District 5 Director Richard Rosales.
The massive landslide occurred on May 20, 2017, dumping more than 6 million cubic yards of material onto the roadway and into the ocean, creating 15 additional acres of coastline, making it the largest slide ever along the Big Sur coast.
Caltrans will continuously evaluate the opening date as work progresses so we anticipate providing an update in July. It’s expected that even after the highway is re-open, intermittent lane closures and roadwork may continue.