The next phase of repairs to stabilize the “slide” of the Rocky Creek Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur will again close the two-lane road, but the closures will only occur overnight, California Department of Transportation officials announced this week.
Starting Monday, the damaged section of the road about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Carmel will be partially closed each night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., with traffic delays of up to an hour possible, Caltrans said in an update. That work will continue through Thursday, July 25.
“Crews will use these partial closures to reposition the existing K-rail and place temporary strips to allow for construction activities on the southbound track,” Caltrans officials said.
The following week, from July 28 to Aug. 1, the road will be completely closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for repair work, Caltrans officials said. Additional closures are expected to be needed intermittently after this week, officials said.
No night work is planned for Friday and Saturday nights, the agency said.
On March 30, part of the southbound lane of Highway 1 collapsed during heavy rains, sending the roadway into the ocean. The roadway initially closed that section of the highway for weeks.
Only one lane of the damaged section was reopened to the public in mid-May, with vehicles taking turns driving in opposite directions using an alternating traffic light.
To reopen both lanes, significant work is still needed. Caltrans officials said the necessary repairs should be completed by next summer.
Meanwhile, other damaged sections of Highway 1 have been closed since January 2023. About 30 miles south of the Rocky Creek exit, a series of landslides — including one this winter — closed a stretch of the road near Lucia. That closure begins near Limekiln State Park from the south.
Kevin Drabinski, a Caltrans spokesman, said work on Regent’s Slide, the largest of the landslides that closed that section of the road, is ongoing.
Caltrans hopes to reopen that southern section by late fall, Drabinski said last month.
