Massive Highway 1 Landslides Adds 15 Acres To Coastline
BIG SUR (CBS SF) – The massive landslide that has shut down Highway 1 at Mud Creek has added 15 new acres to the California coastline, state transportation officials said Thursday.
Caltrans said the slide hurled tons of debris 600 feet out into the ocean creating 15 acres of new land.
A quarter-mile section of Highway 1 is currently under rock and dirt 1,700 feet wide.
About 75 acres of land was displaced, including the 15 acres pushed out to sea or 2.4 million yards of slide debris weighing approximately 4.2 million tons.
The slide is currently still active with access restricted.
"As things accelerated at Mud Creek we began to see a lot of displacement above and below the road," Caltrans Geotechnical Engineer Ryan Turner said. "Large rocks, debris slides coming down on the highway. It got to the point to where it was unsafe to walk or operate equipment – eventually the call was made to close the gates and not allow any access there."
There is no estimate as to when Highway 1 would be able to be reopened in the area of the slide.
