Aerial photo taken in August 2017 by John Madonna, the contractor on the Mud Creek Slide repair job, shows the extent of the massive landslide that happened just a couple of months prior. Photo courtesy Caltrans
Travelers on Hwy 1 through the site of the massive Mud Creek Landslide on Hwy 1 will encounter traffic controls that started this past Monday (Oct. 5) and will continue to an undisclosed time in the future.
“Travelers on Highway 1 near Mud Creek,” reads a news release from Dist. 5 Spokesman Ashton Harris, “will encounter one-way reversing traffic control for roadway restoration.”
He added, “The repairs will take place from Post Mile 8.5 to 9.5 Mondays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a potential for work on Sundays.”
The Mud Creek Slide, which happened in May 2017, was the largest recorded landslide in California history.
The hillside, hundreds of feet above the roadway, came crashing down in a late-season rainstorm, burying the highway 45-feet deep in mud and debris, and washing some 1,500 feet down the slope to the ocean below.
So much debris came down and settled at the water’s edge that it changed the shape of the Coastline.
The landslide took over two years to clear so the road could reopen. Now they have to further repair the scar.
“Crews will work to realign the roadway away from the historical Mud Creek slide prone area and install geotechnical monitoring equipment,” Harris said. He did not release a target date for finishing the work.
Caltrans is putting out message and directional signs to alert motorists of the traffic controls. Drivers can expect delays of up to 10 minutes.
Road information and updates are posted on Caltrans Dist. 5 Social Media platforms: on X at: @CaltransD5; on Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5); and on Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
