Caltrans says crews have successfully fixed a sinkhole that caused the closure of a section of Highway 1 in Big Sur this week. The southern closure has now been moved back to Limekiln State Park.
Parts of Highway 1 have been closed for several months after winter storms caused landslides along the roadways.
On Sunday, a sinkhole appeared about one mile south of Nacimiento-Ferguson Road, leading to the extension of the closure to Pacific Valley.
Kevin Drabinski with CalTrans District 5 says the sinkhole has been fixed, and drivers can travel freely along the previously closed roads.
“Travelers would be able to drive from Morro Bay, Cambria, San Simeon, Ragged Point, Gorda- all the way up to Limekiln, and all the coastal businesses are open along that route,” Drabinski said.
Drabinski said in addition to fixing the sinkhole, Caltrans has made significant progress in repairing this year’s storm damage, with most areas now reopened.
But, there are still two slides that need attention at Paul’s Slide and Dani Creek.
Drabinski said repairs at Dani Creek are nearly complete, and it’s expected to reopen in mid-August.
“Part of the roadway dropped out,” Drabinski said, “We were able to remove the debris, establish fill, put fill back in that hole, bring it up to the level of the roadway.”
But Paul's Slide presents a bigger challenge. This winter, it experienced a massive slide that buried the roadway under 500,000 cubic yards of material, according to Caltrans.
Drabinski said crews are still removing that material, and they don’t have a set reopening date yet.
CalTrans plans to reassess the Big Sur highway’s progress in mid-July. He said the assessment will hopefully provide a more specific timeline.
“It's kind of like if you were mowing a football field and you got to the 40 yard line,” Drabinski said. “You could find they look up and say, ‘Hey, I've got this much left to go, and based on the progress we're making, we think it'll take this long to complete the job.’”
For the latest updates, you can visit caltrans.ca.gov.
