CA - Repairs continue at Paul’s Slide on Big Sur Coast with updated repair design
Engineering teams have developed a repair design which will bring the roadway slightly inland as it passes in front of the Paul’s Slide complex. This design also allows for an enlarged catchment area between concrete barriers and fencing placed along the northbound lane and the toe of the slide. This will enhance safety for the traveling public as well as for construction and maintenance crews. (Caltrans)
MONTEREY – Paul’s Slide, the area on Highway 1 closed to through traffic, continues to live up to its name as movement of the hillside is ongoing but repair work continues.
Highway 1 remains closed to vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic for two miles, between the town of Lucia to the north and Limekiln State Park to the south.
In early August, repair efforts were suspended at the site on Highway 1, postmile marker 21.7, to give Geotech crews time to study measurements of recent slide activity and in coordination with Caltrans engineering teams, design repairs based on the assessment of the slide conditions.
After a brief pause in repair work for the assessment and design, crews continue to work seven days a week during all daylight hours, but there have been two overriding safety priorities while working to fully reopen the highway, according to Caltrans.
The first has been the safety of the crews who make these repairs while working at a site that is steep and where slide activity continues – and will continue – to take place. The second goal has been to design a repair that will create a safe roadway for the traveling public.
With those safety priorities in mind, engineering teams have developed a repair design which will bring the roadway slightly inland as it passes in front of the Paul’s Slide complex, said Caltrans. This design also allows for an enlarged catchment area between concrete barriers and fencing placed along the northbound lane and the toe of the slide. This will enhance safety for the traveling public as well as for construction and maintenance crews.
Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast remains open in the north from Monterey to Lucia and in the south from Cambria to Limekiln.
Slides are a common occurrence as a consequence of major storms hitting the Central Coast and this year’s heavy winter storms caused landslides along the Big Sur coast affecting portions of Highway 1 in Monterey County.
One of the more heavily damaged areas occurred at Paul’s Slide about 44 miles south of Monterey where movement of the hillside continues and Caltrans repair work is ongoing, requiring the continued closure of the roadway.
Caltrans reported that at the beginning of the Paul’s Slide repair effort earlier this year it was estimated that 500,000 cubic yards of material would have to be moved from the slide area spanning about one-half mile in length between Lucia and Limekiln.
Because of the uncertainty regarding continued slide activity at the repair site as well as weather conditions in the coming months, there is no current estimated time for a full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide.
According to the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the southern closure is located one half mile south of Paul’s Slide. There is no parking in the turnaround area. Limekiln State Park remains closed with entry into the park strictly prohibited. It is also illegal to camp in turnouts or anywhere on Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast unless in a designated campsite in a campground open to the public per Monterey County Code 14.18.020(a).
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
