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Big Sur Coastline Cut Off After 2nd Landslide

BIG SUR, Monterey County (CBS / AP) -- A nearly 40-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway through the scenic Big Sur region is now cut off after a rock and mud slide blocked access following the collapse of another chunk of highway last week.

California transportation officials say work was halted on clearing the Thursday morning slide near Limekiln State Park after a large boulder careened into a front-end loader.

Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Shivers said a new loader won't arrive until Friday morning to restart the clearing.

The slide comes about a week after another section of Highway 1 collapsed north of the community of Big Sur. That section of road is not expected to reopen until next month.

The latest slide, while smaller, blocks access to Highway 46, the only highway still providing inland access to the community of Big Sur, a small town of roadside restaurants and rustic cabins.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)

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