Traffic & Transit
Highway 1 Construction To Finish Early
Find out when you should be able to drive down the Big Sur coast again.
BIG SUR, CA — Caltrans officials said they are two months ahead of schedule to reopen state Highway 1 at Rat Creek in Monterey County, where a Jan. 28 landslide washed out a 150-foot section of the iconic coastal roadway.
The original estimate was early summer when major repair work began on March 1, but Caltrans said favorable weather has allowed work to proceed faster and the roadway is expected to reopen by April 30.
Rat Creek is about 30 miles north of the San Luis Obispo County border with Monterey County.
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"Reopening Highway 1 at Rat Creek just three months after a washout of this magnitude is great news for residents, recreationalists, business owners, and those who move goods through this region," Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said.
After Caltrans identified a repair strategy in late February, crews worked seven days a week during daylight hours to fill the canyon with compacted dirt to the road level. Caltrans will establish the base of a new road during the next two weeks, to be followed by paving and striping.
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Intermittent work will continue at Rat Creek following the reopening as crews will install a new drainage system. The 10-foot diameter culvert will improve water flow during storms and make the roadway more resilient to extreme weather activity.
Caltrans will also work on landscaping and installing permanent guardrails throughout the early summer.
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