A huge piece of California's Highway 1 near Big Sur collapsed into the ocean

[groundloop]

Source: CNN

A huge piece of California's Highway 1 was washed out this week by a winter storm that brought heavy rain and snow.

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) officials said in a statement Friday a debris flow from the hillside above the roadway "overwhelmed drainage infrastructure, flowed across the highway, and eroded the road resulting in the complete loss of a segment of Highway 1" at Rat Creek, about 15 miles south of Big Sur, a mountainous stretch of the state's central coast.

California Highway Patrol Officer John Yerace said he was in the area on Thursday around 4 p.m. when he noticed "this section of roadway, specifically the southbound lane, had fallen off into the ocean."

Images and drone footage from the scene show a huge gap in the scenic highway, which runs along much of the California coast.



Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/30/us/big-sur-road-collapse-trnd/index.html

[diane in sf]

1. It's very typical. Happens every winter. Those coastal hills are a loose jumble of clay and rocks.

Water runs in seams behind parts of the cliffs and hills, and stuff slides lubed by water and slippery clay.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

33. Slippery clay indeed.

I jumped onto a dry dirt-covered rock while crossing a creek, and it was like jumping onto ice. Flipped into the creek, but I was thankful that I didn't break any bones.

I repeatedly hurt myself while camping in that area.

Decided to walk down a trail to the bottom of Jade Cove in flip-flops instead of my hiking boots, since I saw other people with similar footwear heading down, and soon learned that the "trail" becomes extremely steep! I was sliding down on my butt through several parts. Then I immediately gashed a big toe at the bottom of the cove on a sharp rock, and I later had to repeatedly push the cut flesh into dirt on the way back up. It was much more of a climb than a walk, digging the feet into the trail for stability.

Cleaned out the dirt as much as I could when I returned to the rental car, where I left most of my gear and the first-aid kit.

Nearby Sand Dollar Beach was much more pleasant!

[Hortensis]

47. :) Obviously made for vivid memories, though.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

52. Yes, I still enjoyed it!

Later camped at Point Reyes, north of San Francisco, which was like a rain forest in comparison.

Various birds were seen throughout Point Reyes, and apparently one of the large unknown birds kept walking around my mostly-secluded tent and making loud noises throughout the night. I recorded the strange and loud sounds with my video camera, and learned the next day from a ranger that it was the calls of a mountain lion in heat! Lol, glad that I didn't go outside in the darkness and try to scare away the "bird".

I liked the people that I met out there!

EDIT:
I had no idea at the time that mountain lions made these kinds of sounds:

[Hortensis]

53. Oh, no! We've camped up there, but pre-electronic advantages,

so if a mountain lion was prowling around we never knew. Thanks for the video! Great fun and neither of us would have known what that bird was. So beautiful there!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

54. And here's yet another funny story.

I tried to stay on Hwy 1 as long as possible from Big Sur to Point Reyes, despite how Google maps had recommended another route for faster travel.

Since I did that, I learned that Hwy 1 becomes more like small suburban streets north of San Francisco, and it's crucial to not miss any road signs to remain on the "highway". At some point, I indeed missed a turn and I ended up slowly driving through a crowd of wealthy-looking and well-dressed people congregating and walking on a road. They moved out of my way as I slowly proceeded, looking at me like I was insane.

I asked some of them for directions back to Hwy 1, and all of them curtly said they didn't know that area. So they didn't seem very nice to me, but I eventually circled around and found the turn to Hwy 1 that I had missed earlier.

I later learned that I was driving through some famous movie festival, which usually has several celebrities in attendance. Lol.

I didn't own a smartphone back then, which would've obviously been more helpful than my cheap flip phone for those situations. Lol.

Edit: Maybe it was part of a film festival in Mill Valley? I was there in October, which fits when it's held. I just don't remember the names now. I know that I exited onto Hwy 1 after it had merged with 101, but then I continued driving straight soon thereafter when I was supposed to turn left.

[Hortensis]

57. Lol. Snoots. We had our own encounter on getting lost, but north of SF

down a back road to some ostentatiously hippyish community that remained dropped out long, long after the whims of popular culture had moved on. No one in the little crowd in the only store had any idea how to get to a highway in the outside world. (Surprise.)

All we could guess was that our machine-made clothes and cab-over camper with children and a cat hanging out the windows shouted plastic people to them, or some other modern polluting lifeform. Whatever. We eventually stumbled onto a nursery that specialized in dozens of varieties of lavender and vintage roses, so it was worth getting lost.

In any case, it sounds like they had more in common with your crowd than would please either.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

58. Lol, that's funny too!

I think the people milling around on the street in my situation were mostly from elsewhere, transported to the nearby theater by others. I was wondering why none of them seemed to know their location. Didn't they live in that area? Then one of them spoke to me in broken English, obviously from some non-English speaking European country. That's when I realized it was some kind of international event.

After I started to very slowly drive through the crowd, I was committed because people resumed standing in the street behind me. So it was my rental car surrounded by people on all sides, with me politely waving and mouthing "sorry" as I continued, periodically asking some of them for directions. Lol, it was ironically like a weird movie scene.

I left Big Sur before dawn that morning, but I had to speed-walk (with a heavy backpack) to my distant campsite at Point Reyes to set up camp just before sunset. I was much sweatier than I intended that night.

[Hortensis]

59. Oh, okay. I'd like to see Borat in that role. Reminds me a bit

of crawling around the central square of a Mexican town during a national holiday. We weren't in the wrong place, but it was the wrong time and the crowds there for the festival were not in the mood to make way for tourists. Of course. Like you, we enjoyed wherever we ended up.

[mopinko]

2. i've driven that road a few times. seemed like a bad place to put a road to me.

beautiful but terrifying.

[Mr.Bill]

11. Being on the coast, a lot of erosion has happened since it was built.

And we know more about it now. I don't think they would build it today given current conditions.

[mopinko]

13. when was it built?

yeah, if they built it today, it would be very different.

[Mr.Bill]

16. Between 1919 and 1937.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1

The interesting thing will be what they do to fix it. There was an area up in San Mateo County that was known as Devil's Slide that they were constantly repairing for smaller slides. They finally went inland and cut a tunnel through a mountain and bypassed it. Not a cheap project. I would imagine if there is flat area inland of this one they will just build a bypass.

[RockRaven]

3. It's not winter if Hwy 1 hasn't been wiped out somewhere south of Big Sur...

After 2020, and now how 2021 is starting, it's almost comforting to see a normal headline in the news.

[stillcool]

26. ain't it the truth...

I've gotten used to a see-saw affect with mind-numbing news, followed eventually by a slight dis-ease, while waiting for next. The weather can get have some pretty scary affects too, but it's already factored in the natural ebb and flow thing.

[Hortensis]

48. Now that you put it that way, yes! :)

[MFM008]

4. my luck

i would have been driving over it just at that moment.....

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Wow. I'm glad no one was driving at night or whenever, and this happened while they were

on the road, it would have been sheer terror going down the side of that road...

[iluvtennis]

6. +++ agree. nt

[My Pet Orangutan]

7. OMG - when will Apple release an update?

[TimeToGo]

19. ?

[My Pet Orangutan]

21. The current MacOs is called Big Sur

... a bit off the wall I know.

[TimeToGo]

46. 😎

[BigDemVoter]

8. That is one of the most beautiful highways in the country.

Every time I've taken it, I've wondered about its stability. . . . I guess I know now.

[mopinko]

14. every time i drove it

i wondered why it didnt have guardrails.
hard to enjoy it while you have a death grip on the wheel.

[pnwmom]

20. Even while you're a passenger, with nothing to grip.

[mopinko]

22. that too.

grippin my knees i was. my ex is a very good driver. it flustered me more in the passenger seat that it did him.
have driven it myself, too.

[Worried2020]

9. A link to a video from the link in the OP:

.
.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/30/us/big-sur-road-collapse-trnd/index.html

and one more pic



Yikes

- that's scary



W

[My Pet Orangutan]

39. Floor it.

It works in the movies

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

51. See "Thelma and Louise". We can't all be Evel Knievel. nt

[magicarpet]

10. Going to take a bunch of backfill loaded trucks to repair that washout.

[diane in sf]

40. They'll cut the road further into the mountain. I have a friend who lives near there whose family

has run the heavy equipment to repair the road for three generations. They live on an amazing piece of property west of the highway.

[Baclava]

12. That'll buff right out

[COL Mustard]

23. I Love Any Reference To UC Santa Cruz

The Fighting Banana Slugs!!!!

[central scrutinizer]

56. And Tom Lehrer!

https://tomlehrersongs.com/

[burrowowl]

37. Thanks for post

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. Uh, oh.

I mean, who could possibly think that wasn't the best place to locate a highway?

About five years ago I took the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Portland, OR. Great train, fantastic trip. In part of California we were extremely close to the ocean, and I kept on thinking, "What there were an earthquake?" As it happens, about two days after that there was a minor earthquake which shut down that part of the train for a day or so.

Much of the coast of California is geologically unstable. Overall, this whole planet is geologically active. Which is why life can be so interesting at times.

[R B Garr]

43. We take the train from Union Station in Los Angeles to

San Luis Obispo and then rent a car for the rest of the PCH drive into Monterey. That gets us into the most beautiful coastal drive of the highway after an easy 5-hour train ride. We still haven’t taken the train to Portland yet, but plan to soon.

Just today I told my husband we should start checking to see if they open up Monterey Aquarium soon since the stay-at-home orders in California are being lifted. That’s when he told me about this highway collapse! So disappointed that favorite trip is going to be delayed again.

I know what you mean about the train close to the coast. Even going down to San Diego there are parts where you can hardly see the land the tracks are on.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

45. I so hope you get to take the train for that journey.

The PCH is wonderful.

There are many great trips to be taken everywhere, all over our wonderful country.

I personally have several trips I want to take. Last year, in 2020, I had planned to take Amtrak from Lamy, NM to Seattle, Washington, via Chicago, last year. Overnight from New Mexico to Chicago. A hotel in Chicago, then two overnights on the train to Seattle. What a wonderful adventure! Alas, the pandemic put an end to that trip, but I sincerely hope it will be able to happen in the future. Perhaps 2022, or in 2023. Probably not this year. Sigh.

The up side to all of the cancellations because of Covid is that I can plan on future travel with the money not spent.

[R B Garr]

49. Thanks! We hope to take that trip soon, too. Amtrak

seems pretty safe. They have strict mask enforcement and they are not overselling seats. We took the train for a couple short 2-hour trips from L.A. to San Diego around the holidays and it was very well spaced seating, sometimes almost empty. That gave me confidence.

Your planned trips sound wonderful! They will be here before you know it. Fingers crossed...so thrilled with the vaccines underway.

One of these days we also want to take Amtrak from Boston to New York, but that involves air travel, so that’s delayed.

I was so bummed that Biden couldn’t take Amtrak for his inauguration. It would have been such a nice visual. Train travel is such good old-fashioned fun.

[Upthevibe]

17. I'm not a real traveling type....

I've just never been into travel (except for road trips). I just don't like packing, airports, and all that comes with it. I feel like I'm in a continuous state of being disoriented.

The only other countries I've ever been to are Mexico, Costa Rica, and Canada. I say this to give context to my feelings about this particular part of my state - Big Sur. The drive from Southern CA to Northern CA on that route is the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my entire life. I live in the L.A. area, and I've had the pleasure of driving from here to San Francisco several times. It's breathtaking. Obviously, some real stabilizing is going to need to happen.....

[patphil]

18. I think they'll need a bridge there...too big a wash out.

[aggiesal]

24. That's a 4-5 hour detour. ...

Qanonsense says it's a jewish space lazer that blew it up!

I bet if we put that on a board somewhere, it would become a trend.

[NNadir]

25. It is, for sure, my favorite road in North America. My life was changed by it, in fact.

The moment in my life when I realized that I really, really, really wanted to live took place just a few meters off that road.

[Mr.Bill]

28. Orange Sunshine or Window Pane?

[NNadir]

31. A far more powerful drug...

Love.

I woke up in a little cabin off the road, in a grove of redwoods, next to the woman I would marry.

I had never seen anyone or anything as beautiful as she.

35 years later, I can touch that moment as if it were seconds ago.

[Mr.Bill]

32. What a great story!

Some of my best memories are on or near California beaches.

[mr_lebowski]

41. Oh hell yeah ...

Esp. Avila & Pirates Cove in SLO, and Montana De Oro in Morro Bay. And Capitola/Aptos area.

And the Ocean Beach/Cliff House/Sutro Baths area.

Oh, and Half Moon Bay.

And there were definitely doses involved on a few occasions.

AND love

[joshcryer]

34. That is beautiful.

Thank you for sharing.

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. Love!

Great memory!

I have a similar one, from China Cove, Point Lobos, 50 years ago. *sigh*

[BlueCanine]

27. It Will Be Fixed.

I've seen events like this on this road many times in my 68 years. The fix may take years for this event but it will happen again somewhere else along that road. When multiple washouts occur that isolates the communities in the area people have to rely on the state to supply them with food and fuel. It's a constant burden on the state to keep this road open but the tourist trade for those communities drives the state to maintain and keep this scenic road open.

Many influential people have a stake in keeping the road open including Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez and other celebrities. The Esalen Institute is another driving force to keep the road open. Many music festivals have taken place along what I believe to be, the most scenic road in America.

It will open and close again but will never be abandoned.

[Coyote45]

50. it will be fixed.

the fact is california is caving into the pacific ocean. it is as inevitable as the moon coming up tomorrow.

[paleotn]

29. Hmmm.....wonder if I should head back to Annandale?

Apologies to Steely Dan...

My Old School...
California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go back to Annandale

[Buckeye_Democrat]

30. I drove over that section on my way to camp...

... at Limekiln State Park a few years ago.

The views were amazing, mostly enjoyed during stops, but I was pretty damn focused on the road whenever I was driving.

[PlanetBev]

35. Love that highway, except when I'm heading south on the passenger's side

Years ago, I looked down and saw an 18-wheeler that had tumbled down to the bottom of the cliff.

After that, you couldn’t drive a toothpick up my ass.

[nwduke]

38. The Jewish laser from space

strikes again🤪

[Ilsa]

62. Ding ding ding! A winner! nt

[Teddy Beer]

42. If only they'd raked the highway!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

55. My God, he's such a moron.

"Everyone grab their rakes, brooms and dust pans! It's time to tidy up the forests again!"

[sarcasmo]

44. Jewish Lasers.

Credit, SNL Weekend update.

[Blue Owl]

60. Zoinks!

[Kablooie]

61. How the heck do they fix something like that?

Do they build a bridge or dig out the mountain a lot more?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

66. Blast and dig into the mountain. It should be cheaper.

It's a fast job, if they contract with the Jewish Space Laser Agency. Boom! Done!

[twodogsbarking]

63. Ramps on both sides

Video the participants.

[intrepidity]

64. Yeah, it's scenic AF, but all of my memories of driving it

are all horrible. Both as driver and passenger. I've been up and down that highway enough to last the rest of my life. Now I totally avoid it, just not worth the anxiety.

But I think I was scarred while in HS, learning about a classmate who had perished when their vehicle plunged into the Pacific, right in this area that has collapsed.

Thank god for Google Earth, where I now satisfy my travel urges, from the (relative) safety of my (twice-within-a-year-evacuated-due-to-wildfires) home sweet home...

[Xolodno]

65. Traveled PCH more than I can count and love it every time. But yeah...

...every few years a portion of it gets wiped out. They'll either bridge it, cut in, divert of some combination. It's a big tourist route with its breathtaking views.

I remember one year the state set aside money to finally repair Highway 39 to reach the ski resorts with a quicker route...then they diverted the funding to PCH since another portion of it got wiped out.

Thankfully, no one got hurt. I remember the La Conchita landslide in 2009 that wiped out a few homes and killing a number of people. Good portion of PCH is in areas where the landscape "changes".