The stretch of Highway 41 from the Cholame Y interchange to Highway 33 has reopened with one lane in each direction.
Kevin Drabinski is a Public Information Officer for Caltrans. He says crews will still have to remove all remaining debris and stabilize the area in order to open the full width of the roadway.
“We urge people to just take caution when they drive at all [during] the holidays, but especially through that section of road because it does have a new lane configuration,” Drabinski told KCBX.
Highway 41 was closed after a rockslide on Sunday evening. Drabinski says the stretch of road was shut down for almost 48 hours.
Repairs are still needed on the hillside facing the road.
“ We can see large rocks and boulders still perched above there, so we'll probably go in with these smaller spider excavators that are nimble and can operate on a slope and bring the debris down from the top,” Drabinski said. “Then we'll have to see what steps we need to take to stabilize the slope.”
Caltrans has estimated that finishing that process will take up to a month, depending on weather conditions.
