Big Sur Issue!!!

[DonnaR57]

It appears that a major bridge along the PCH (CA-1) has crumbled and will cause issues for up to a year (possibly):

Battered By Winter Storms Big Sur is Cut Off From California/



Donna

[Southwest Dave]

Ouch ! That's not good news. Hopefully they can get it resolved earlier than first expected, mainly for the residents but it will also impact a lot of travel plans.

Dave.

[Rick Quinn]

No kidding! Aside from the scarier aspects, (like running out of food, the loss of livelihood, and the possibility of medical emergencies), I rather envy those people. Can you imagine, having a place like Big Sur all to yourself, without the near constant stream of traffic on CA-1? It has to be surreal, and very, very peaceful.

That bridge must be close to 100 years old; I wonder how many other remote communities in this country are at similar risk, with our steadily aging infrastructure?

Rick

[landmariner]

This is a rather significant road closure and certainly a highlight of many a roadtripper's route planning. It might be useful highlighting this closure as a "sticky" in the relevant forum threads.

[glc]

It shouldn't be too long before CA-1 is open to Big Sur from both directions - that needs to happen to get supplies into the area. Question is whether they will allow tourists - they should because that's about the only source of income for the locals. The Naciemento-Fergusson road is also closed due to storm damage, that should be fixed within a few weeks. So - right now a 61 mile stretch of CA-1 is closed to the public.

[glc]

According to the Big Sur blog, CA-1 is now open to the public from Carmel to the failed bridge and Big Sur businesses north of the bridge are open. Access from the south is going to be very problematic for a while, currently the barricade is at Ragged Point. There are multiple areas of slide damage that have to be repaired, the Naciemento-Fergusson road is not open yet but "it may be open to the public within days".

[glc]

The Naciemento-Fergusson Road is now open, but it won't do you much good. From there, you will only have access between Gorda and Limekiln State Park, a stretch of CA-1 which is only 10 miles. However, things are somewhat looking better.

From the Big Sur Blog:

Hi All –

We want to provide you with a quick update on the current schedule for the three biggest challenges on Highway 1:

Mud Creek (PM 8.9)

· We are in the process of developing a solution at Mud Creek. This slide is finally slowing down, allowing us to safely evaluate.

· We anticipate no public access in April.

· Local access will continue to be restricted to daylight hours and is subject to change.

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)

· Work on the permanent repair has begun.

· There will be no public access in April, and the probability of public access in May is low.

· Local access will be limited to two times per day, 6:30-7:00am and 7:30-8:00pm.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge (PM 45.52)

· We have evaluated all possibilities and a temporary bridge for vehicular or pedestrian access is not feasible due to conflicts it would create during construction.

· We are in the midst of developing a detailed construction schedule.

· With all the information we have today, we believe that the bridge will be open to traffic in six months.

We will continue to look for all opportunities to increase access for both local residents and the public, and will keep you updated as conditions change.

Thank you for all your support and cooperation and we all get through this. We don’t expect any changes in the next few days, so please accept my sincere wishes for you to have an excellent weekend!

Susana Z. Cruz

Caltrans District 5

Acting Manager

Public Information Office

[DonnaR57]

There was a news item on our local PBS station last night, all about the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge. Oh my goodness, that bridge is really in sad shape, and it is no wonder that vehicle and pedestrian access is not feasible. It is actually \_/ in one place! The news story said "9 months", as has been mentioned above.


Donna

[glc]

It's \_/ because they have been smashing it with a hoe ram to try to demolish it. They have about 2/3 of it down. Pictures are on the Big Sur Blog.

[glc]

We now have a target date for opening a new bridge - September 30.