Work at Hwy. 1 slide in Big Sur halted after crews notice new cracks in excavation area

Work has temporarily halted at the site of the Regent’s Slide blocking Highway 1 on the Big Sur Coast after crews noticed cracks developing in several areas, Caltrans said in a news release on Friday.

“While excavating the slope with bulldozers earlier this month, crew noticed surface cracking at several points around the area being excavated, indicating additional slide activity,” Caltrans said in a new release.

Caltrans mapped the cracking and determined the new slide would likely continue to move, so it suspended work to ensure the safety of its crews.

Caltrans engineers installed three sensors in the areas of the cracks and are continuing to gather data to determine when the project can safely resume.

Regent’s Slide on Highway 1

This map shows the location of the Regent’s Slide along the Big Sur Coast, including the surrounding areas like Santa Cruz, Monterey, Cambria, and San Luis Obispo.

Map created with the assistance of ChatGPT.

The section of highway has been closed since early February when the hillside 450 feet above the road collapsed, engulfed the road and slide down to the ocean below, Caltrans said. Repairs have been slowed due to the height and steepness of the slope.

In the meantime, a 6.8-mile segment of Highway 1 will remain closed while repairs continue.

Regent’s Slide is located 45 miles south of Carmel at Post Mile (PM) 27.8.

The southern turnaround point on Highway 1 is at PM 25.3, two miles north of Lucia. The northern turnaround point is located at Lime Creek at PM 32.1, just south of the Esalen Institute.

Access to the highway between Carmel and Cambria will remain blocked, although travelers can reach the rest of the coast from the north and south.

Last week, a bicyclist was injured when he tried to cross Regent’s Slide and fell 100 feet down the hill.

Lucerne Valley resident Cody Mortensen, 28, ignored a warning from a worker at the site and continued into the slide area. He suffered a laceration to his arm and possible head trauma but was able to climb to the beach below.

He was rescued and airlifted to a hospital in Salinas.

Overnight closures come to another Hwy. 1 location

Farther to the north, Caltrans will close Highway 1 overnight this week as it works on repairs to the road at Rocky Creek.

The closure will be in effect from Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the area where a March slip-out resulted in the loss of a section of the southbound lane, Big Sur State Park said in a news release.

No overnight closures are planned for the week of Aug. 25.

Daytime work is continuing behind concrete barriers, and drivers shouldn’t experience significant delays using the northbound lane via a temporary signal system, according to the release.

All Big Sur businesses and amenities are open.