Highway 1 repairs continue following January storms

BIG SUR, Calif. – Long stretches of Highway 1 are closed in Big Sur following three major slides during the January storms.

One was the Polar Star Slide on Jan. 4, which is one mile south of Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County. The slope was stabilized, allowing this part of the highway to reopen Feb. 11.

The Mill Creek Slide took place on Jan. 14 in Monterey County. Now the repairs are in the final stages. Temporary concrete barriers still need to be installed on the southbound side of the highway, while a guardrail is being made.

Repairs are expected to finish soon if the dry weather continues. And if that happens, Mill Creek is expected to reopen around March 30.

And Paul's Slide fell on Jan. 15. For years, Caltrans has been keeping an eye on this area as it has frequent debris falls. Workers have installed barriers, fencing, and a catchment area to keep the debris off of the highway's lanes.

Enough material fell in January that it overwhelmed the side barriers, pushing them into the middle of the highway.

This repair is expected to take the longest, as it calls for a vertical cut to be made on the mountain.

Caltrans is hoping by cutting the slope it will regain enough stability for driving to resume along Paul's Slide.

Currently, Caltrans is working from top to bottom of the mountain.

Caltrans created a pathway in order to bring the material down, but the work slowed during the recent rains.

Caltrans estimated 15 times more material has to be moved in comparison to Polar Star or Mill Creek slides.

Right now, Caltrans estimates it will take several months before reopening Paul's Slide.