A continuous drive on California’s Highway 1 won’t be possible until 2025 at the earliest

The drive up or down California’s Highway 1 through Big Sur offers unparalleled ocean views from a roadway carved through multiple coastal cliffs—a precarious geography that has made it a challenge to open the entire stretch of scenic highway keep.

Since January 2023, several rockfalls and landslides have led to closures along parts of the highway. And despite the best efforts of transportation officials, driving the entire stretch of the roughly 100-mile road between Carmel and Cambria won’t be possible until sometime in 2025.

Repairs to a section of Highway 1 near the community of Lucia have been postponed due to new landslides, delaying plans that would have allowed uninterrupted travel on Highway 1, the California Department of Transportation said.

The 10.8-mile segment – ​​which begins just south of the Esalen Institute and ends just north of Lucia – remains closed around the remains of Regent’s slide, which on February 9 dumped an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of dirt, rock and other sent debris across the roadway. during one of the intense atmospheric river storms of the year.

Caltrans officials emphasized that much of the Big Sur coast is “accessible and open” beyond that challenging stretch, according to a news release. Big Sur’s views, restaurants and amenities are accessible from the north or south, and no business or community is completely cut off by Regent’s slide, said Kevin Drabinski, a Caltrans spokesman.

Read more: A man took an illegal bike ride across an active landslide in Big Sur. He fell but survived

In mid-August, crews working on Regent’s slide discovered new cracks in the slope where excavation and construction work was underway, halting repairs, according to an August update from Caltrans.

“In the weeks since that update, continued land movements and slope cracks have been observed during intensive project monitoring and investigation,” Caltrans officials said recently. To resume repair work, Caltrans crews plan to continue monitoring the area until “crews and equipment can be placed on stable ground.”

Drabinski said in August that repairs to Regent’s slide were expected to be completed by late fall. However, Caltrans’ recent update stated that the repairs would no longer be completed this year and that the agency would provide a new estimate and updates “on a regular basis.”

Regent’s slide originated approximately 450 feet above the roadway, with debris burying the roadway and extending to the ocean. Caltrans crews have been working for months to clear and stabilize the area, but Drabinski said it was particularly challenging because of the height and steepness of the slope.

When the slide is finally repaired, Highway 1 will be free for direct travel between Cambria and Carmel – something that hasn’t been possible for nearly two years.

The vast majority of the scenic highway has reopened after damage during back-to-back years of extremely heavy rain, including two other landslides around Regent’s slide and a rockslide at the Rocky Creek Bridge.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.