PHOTOS: After three years, Highway 1 in Big Sur will be open to through-traffic on Jan. 14.

On Wednesday, Jan. 14—three years after it closed down—Highway 1 in Big Sur will reopen to through-travelers. 

The news comes ahead of a statement from Caltrans made in September 2025 that it hoped to reopen the highway to through-traffic by March 2026. Two overlapping slides—Paul’s Slide on Jan. 14, 2023, and Regent’s Slide on Feb. 9, 2024—have resulted in the longest closure in the region’s history.

“The whole community has been designed around being able to travel north and south, so being able to restore that is going to give everyone the ability to take a deep breath and reunite,” says Kirk Gafill, president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce and owner of Nepenthe. "For some [Big Sur residents] it's a minor inconvenience, but for others it's enormous."

Just before Christmas, Big Sur residents and local businesses received word that the highway might reopen before the New Year. However, recent rains and unsafe conditions caused delays. 

A rockslide south of Limekiln State Park on Tuesday, Jan. 6, briefly closed access to Regent’s Slide. Crews were unable to reach the area for a few days until final repairs related to the rockslide were completed.

Construction crews began making steady and significant progress on Regent’s Slide during the summer months with the deployment of remote-controlled equipment and the installation of thousands of shear dowels—40- to 60-foot-long steel rods—drilled deep into the side of the cliff to keep the unstable material from sliding.

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Caltrans crews were setting up K‑rails, which are concrete barriers, along the highway’s edge as a safety measure before reopening.

Business leaders have been waiting on edge as timelines have creeped forward over the years, now planning for the potential influx of visitors prompted by the news of reopening. Businesses south of the slide have reportedly been most impacted; Treebones resort, located on the south side, had initially planned staffing in accordance with the March reopening timeline. John Handy, owner of Treebones, reported business has dropped by about 40 percent. 

Gafill says the task ahead for Nepenthe is building back up staffing to meet a potential "rising tide" of visitors in the coming months, especially as the highway's reopening coincides with clement weather. 

"It's a huge psychological relief. There's nothing like reuniting a community after its been separated for three years," Gafill says. "It's a great opportunity to serve our guests and see all of the people located on the south side. It's go time."