Highway 1 in Big Sur was closed last night at 9:24pm after a reported rock slide at Mile 42, next to Coast Gallery. The road re-opened this morning at 6:25am after Caltrans workers had enough light to assess the risks above.
"We close it overnight because we can't see the hill above," says Susana Cruz, public information officer for Caltrans, District 5. When the crew arrived this morning, she says, hit was really just a matter of sweeping up the debris and took only minutes. "We just have to make sure there's not a risk of debris falling," Cruz says.
Cruz says Caltrans crews will be on "storm patrol" all weekend (as per usual in the winter months), and will be on call 24 hours per day. When there's daylight, crews will focus their energies on clearing drains and culverts along roads to prevent backup and flooding.
And while the coming rains this weekend might cause more rock slides and even some closures, Cruz says that two new infrastructure improvements will increase the chances those slides are minor ones: the Pitkins Curve Bridge and Rockshed project was completed in January of this year, and the Rocky Creek Viaduct was finished in November of 2013.
"Historically those were problem spots," Cruz says. "Those were target areas where it was almost a given there would be slides."
Cruz also adds the short closure was the first of the year, and she doesn't expect any slides to keep the road closed for more than a few days at most, in part because of better equipment and the recent improvements.
"We can’t control mother nature," Cruz says, "but we can handle it in a better way."