This morning (3/17) CalTrans announced that a 40 foot chunk of Route 1 washed into the Pacific Ocean near the Bixby bridge north of Palo Colorado.
They are trying to negotiate with the owner of a private road for a detour.
The highway in its present location will not be repaired for months. This section washed away from erosion possibly from the recent tsunami waves.
This will change many travel plans south of Big Sur.
Does this cause a change of plans for you?

I saw the pictures of it on the news. Just so glad no one washed down the hillside into the ocean with the road.

Best of luck to all of you who are hoping to travel this way soon.

Damn. Definitely glad that no one was hurt.

We just made plans to go down to Cambria next month for our anniversary, driving through Big Sur both ways. The SJ Mercury article says that "the highway could be closed "potentially several days if not longer."

So, looks like there is a good chance that it will be reopened by the time we take our trip. I definitely hope so - we haven't made the drive all the way through Big Sur in ages.

We just drove down this highway last month, staying in Cambria. If anyone is forced to take an inland route to Cambria while the highway is washed out, I highly recommend exploring the Paso Robles area for wineries and olive groves with tasting rooms. We sort of stumbled onto this area serendipitously, and it could provide a silver lining to the cloud of the closed coastal highway.

Nikki, we really enjoyed the Paso Robles wineries too. We stayed in Cambria for two nights and just explored the area. It really was lovely and the wines were wonderful.

I like taking the Carmel Valley Road (G16)to 101 at approx Greenfield. Prefer the Santa Ynez Valley over Paso Robles for scenery and winery.

That's a shame.

If you look at the photo, you can see that there is no way that road will be open any time soon. Reminds me of the Devil's Slide area that was closed for months. http://www.mercurynews.com/central-c...nclick_check=1

Early estimate is at least a month.

Hello

Planning a Highway 1 trip in July from Mendocino to Capistrano Beach. Any idea what we can expect as far as closures?

Thanks

The very latest from Caltrans- http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/Hourly
Probably best to stick to US 101 from Salinas to San Luis Obispo. There's plenty of coastal highway north of SF.

Thanks for that link, tomfuller. Will keep an eye on things...

I wonder what the odds are that it will be fixed by June 23? We have a trip planned for that weekend Monterey and Hearst Castle

Last week CalTrans was estimating that the slide south of Gorda would take 4 to 6 weeks to clear. BTW this is not the same as the road subsidence as at Rocky Creek which has been temporarily fixed, i.e. one lane is open to controlled traffic in both directions.

Latest CalTrans Update:


CALTRANS PRESS RELEASE
Today’s Date: Monday, May 16, 2011 @ 2 pm
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

***TRAFFIC ADVISORY #41***

HIGHWAY 1 CARMEL TO CAMBRIA ROADWAY UPDATE

HIGHWAY 1 REMAINS CLOSED AT ALDER CREEK JUST NORTH OF THE MONTEREY/SLO COUNTY LINE THROUGH MID-JUNE

MONTEREY COUNTY:

Geologic instability and debris falling on Highway 1 at Alder Creek (Post Mile 7.5), 40 miles south of Big Sur, have closed the roadway completely in both directions to all public, including motorized vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. THIS SECTION OF HWY. 1 REMAINS EXTREMELY UNSTABLE SO THE CLEAN-UP OPERATION IS PROCEEDING AT A SLOW BUT STEADY PACE 400-500 FEET ABOVE THE ROADWAY. Two spyders (like a backhoe) and two bulldozers are making progress down the slope removing slide debris. This type of work is very difficult and challenging and safety is always our top priority. Unfortunately, two Caltrans workers were injured from falling rocks last week. There was also a minor work stoppage due to inclement weather over the weekend. The estimated opening date is tentatively scheduled for mid-June.

I'm driving from San Francisco to Arizona on June 16th thru the 19th. Our plan was to stay in Monterey for a couple of days, then check out Pfeiffer state park on our way to hearst castle. Can we still get to the state park from Monterey? With the road closures, how would you recommend getting from the state park to Hearst?
I read CalTran but I'm a little bit geographically challenged.. Thanks for any advice!

Yes, it would be so much better if they would just give you a map and show you what is closed.

Odd that people have quit mentioning that Naciemento-Fergusson Road detour.

I'm considering taking it Thursday.

Naciemento-Fergusson was most useful for Big Sur residents to use as it was the only way to go north to Carmel/Monterey before the Rocky Creek slide was cleared. Or for people to reach Big Sur from Carmel, again before the Rocky Creek slide was cleared, which is why it was discussed in connection with the more publicized Rocky Creek closure. Using it to get to the south is only necessary if you intend to drive 1 south to Big Sur, then take Naciemento to take 101 south so you could cut across to 1 again and reach Cambria via 46. A very long and arduous detour!!! Hopefully you are staying overnight in Big Sur.

Not overnighting Big Sur. Trying to go from Carmel to Santa Barbara. Long and arduous? It's 25 miles on the map, and paved. I'm really leery. Have you done it?