Highway 1 reopens fully in Big Sur, to cheers and honking horns.

The news about the reopening of Highway 1 in Big Sur at Regent’s Slide has been leaking out for some time now. Katie Rodriguez here, having just returned from a meet-up with Caltrans and a quick drive south near Treebones Resort.

Officials formally announced the news today at around 10:30am, with the highway opening to through-traffic at noon. But a quick Google search will show you the word got out earlier through community members; the Weekly had heard before Christmas that it could happen any day. For Big Sur locals, this news is moldy by now.

So it wasn’t a surprise to see a small group of cars already waiting on both sides of the slide area. About an hour before Caltrans workers lifted the traffic cones, I joined other media and Caltrans personnel near a pullout just south of Regent’s Slide.

And it was a gorgeous day, vibes could not be higher. My car’s temperature gauge said 68 degrees Fahrenheit but it felt like 80 degrees. When the highway finally opened and cars began streaming through—horns honking, hands waving out windows—the looks on the Caltrans workers’ faces said it all. They looked like they were watching their kid ride a bicycle for the first time.

“We’re so excited,” says Scott Eades, director of Caltrans District 5, which includes Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. A bead of sweat drips down his face from the heat. “We’re happy we were able to do this with a degree of innovation. This whole slide has been an interesting exercise because there’s so many dynamics that we just couldn’t have anticipated.”

Eades goes on to explain how Regent’s Slide differed significantly from Paul’s Slide—which overlapped with Regent’s and closed the highway for three years—as well as from Dolan’s Slide in February 2024. Stabilizing Regent’s required more than 50 miles of steel pins, or 4,600 shear dowels, to keep the mountain from moving. Neither of the other slides required that type of reinforcement.

So far, they’ve come in way under budget—somewhere in the $60 million range with an $82 million budget.

“We’re keeping the contract open because we anticipate there will be storms over the next few months,” Eades says.

I drove a bit further south and got talking to a woman named Rhea Whithrow who set up a little farmstand just south of Regent’s.

“I’ve really gotten to know all the guys working down here,” she says, sharing how for the last six months she’s been waking up in the early morning hours, around 4:30am, to make breakfast to sell at the stand.

Most of the workers live in San Simeon and are from out of town, many of whom, she says, have enjoyed working in the area. One worker even brought his wife to live on the south side while he worked on the cleanup. “I’m going to miss them,” she says.

It’s been a long three years for residents. For Whithrow, five of the eight years she’s lived in Big Sur have been marked by highway closures due to slides. 

Everyone understands it comes with the territory. Driving back, I noted a number of familiar roadside warnings: “LOOSE GRAVEL,” “SLIDE AREA.”

But today, we celebrate the reunification of the Big Sur community, and the return of connectivity along one of the most iconic drives in the world. Enjoy the drive.