PSA: CA Hwy 1 cut off at Big Sur due to irreparable cracks in Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge

[KingLlama]

If by "famous spot in Big Sur" you mean the village of Big Sur, then your route would be:
From Cambria, CA46 west to Paso Robles. US101 north to Salinas. CA68 west to Monterey. And finally CA1 south to Big Sur.

This is exactly what I'm doing in eight weeks, but the opposite....down CA1 as far south as I can go, then back up and across to 101, then down to Paso Robles, over to CA1, and as far north as I can go.

Not ideal at all....but it's kind of a "once in a lifetime" California trip, so I just gotta make the best of it.

Would love some good restaurant recommendations for that stretch between San Simeon and Santa Barbara.

 

[GrandBob]

This is exactly what I'm doing in eight weeks, but the opposite....down CA1 as far south as I can go, then back up and across to 101, then down to Paso Robles, over to CA1, and as far north as I can go.

Not ideal at all....but it's kind of a "once in a lifetime" California trip, so I just gotta make the best of it.

"As far north as I can go" will not be very far ... about 15 miles north of San Simeon before you are blocked by slides. Still, it's good for a once in a lifetime trip. I salute you for making lemonade ;-)

Bob

 

[KingLlama]

Thanks Bob. That's indeed what I'm doing....instead of thinking of it as "not being able to drive the entire length of CA1", I'm thinking of it as "seeing more of wine country than I had originally intended".

 

[cruisehopeful]

Just double checking with the wisdom here: I will be going north from Long beach to Pacific Grove. Google is telling me to take the 5 the whole way (barf), but I can take a different version with the 101 which will take about 15 minutes longer. It looks like I won't deal with Big Sur at all doing that. Is that correct?

 

[GrandBob]

Just double checking with the wisdom here: I will be going north from Long beach to Pacific Grove. Google is telling me to take the 5 the whole way (barf), but I can take a different version with the 101 which will take about 15 minutes longer. It looks like I won't deal with Big Sur at all doing that. Is that correct?

Correct. The US101 route is more scenic, though nowhere near as scenic as highway 1. Correct that you won't be on the Big Sur coast, though the portions around Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach are quite nice. Slow down through King City, it's a long standing speed trap due to the presence of a CHP station. When you get close to Salinas, you might want to divert through the town of Spreckels to avoid stoplights in Salinas. Anybody remember Spreckels sugar? This was the company town for that.

 

[GrandBob]

This current closure map is from http://thebigsurblog.com/ That site also shows what businesses are open.

Paul's Slide, which is just south of Lucia (where it says Limekiln State park) is being worked on, and hopefully will open in another month or so. Already it's open a few hours a day to locals and delivery vehicles only; so clearly they're making progress.

The new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is scheduled to be open by mid- to late- September.

Although I've recommended using Nacimiento Road in this and other threads, it's now not recommended. It's a small road, no more than 1 1/2 lanes in most places, and is now being used for large convoys of massive material trucks, hauling material for the bridge replacement. You can get stuck for a couple hours at a time on this road. Also, there are reports that construction workers are taking this road home, after their shifts, at dangerous speeds. There's already been one head-on.

They're still not saying much about the massive (one million tons+) Mud Creek Slide. The "very preliminary" guess of one year is still the latest communication from CalTrans. But the slide is still moving, and no one can guess at how long it will be before the geologists give the green light for planning a fix. I've seen comments that people think that "one year" is wildly optimistic, and that it could take two years or longer to fix this.

 

[uksteveo]

This current closure map is from http://thebigsurblog.com/ That site also shows what businesses are open.

Paul's Slide, which is just south of Lucia (where it says Limekiln State park) is being worked on, and hopefully will open in another month or so. Already it's open a few hours a day to locals and delivery vehicles only; so clearly they're making progress.

The new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is scheduled to be open by mid- to late- September.

Although I've recommended using Nacimiento Road in this and other threads, it's now not recommended. It's a small road, no more than 1 1/2 lanes in most places, and is now being used for large convoys of massive material trucks, hauling material for the bridge replacement. You can get stuck for a couple hours at a time on this road. Also, there are reports that construction workers are taking this road home, after their shifts, at dangerous speeds. There's already been one head-on.

They're still not saying much about the massive (one million tons+) Mud Creek Slide. The "very preliminary" guess of one year is still the latest communication from CalTrans. But the slide is still moving, and no one can guess at how long it will be before the geologists give the green light for planning a fix. I've seen comments that people think that "one year" is wildly optimistic, and that it could take two years or longer to fix this.

GrandBob, Thanks for all your input regarding this issue! I thought I've been keeping up to date, but apparently not as much as I should have!! We have a trip planned mid October and I thought there was a chance that we would be able to travel from the LA area to Monterey on the PCH. I was being optimistic that the bridge could be fixed by then, but reading your previous post, it looks like there is not a chance of that happening due to the mud slide at Mud Creek. I've been focusing on the progress of the bridge and I guess I completely overlooked the mud slides. Am I correct in assuming that the road will be shut down for awhile at Mud Creek? Trying to plan the best itinerary as we are staying the night in Santa Maria then were planning on driving to Monterey. In your opinion, is it going to be best to take the 101 to Monterey and then head south to see Big Sur? After our night in Monterey, our plan was to the head east to Yosemite. We want to see as much of the coast and Big Sur area, but don't want to have to back track a whole bunch either as our time will be somewhat limited.
Thanks again for your help!! I appreciate it!

 

[GrandBob]

GrandBob, Thanks for all your input regarding this issue! I thought I've been keeping up to date, but apparently not as much as I should have!! We have a trip planned mid October and I thought there was a chance that we would be able to travel from the LA area to Monterey on the PCH. I was being optimistic that the bridge could be fixed by then, but reading your previous post, it looks like there is not a chance of that happening due to the mud slide at Mud Creek. I've been focusing on the progress of the bridge and I guess I completely overlooked the mud slides. Am I correct in assuming that the road will be shut down for awhile at Mud Creek? Trying to plan the best itinerary as we are staying the night in Santa Maria then were planning on driving to Monterey. In your opinion, is it going to be best to take the 101 to Monterey and then head south to see Big Sur? After our night in Monterey, our plan was to the head east to Yosemite. We want to see as much of the coast and Big Sur area, but don't want to have to back track a whole bunch either as our time will be somewhat limited.
Thanks again for your help!! I appreciate it!

I'm glad I've been of some help. I hope you have a grand time on your vacation.

The Pfeiffer Canyon bridge should be fixed by the time of your visit. But you're right, there's precious little hope of being able to get past the Mud Creek slide. Your proposed itinerary sounds like it's probably the best one -- US 101 to Monterey, and then CA 1 south to Big Sur. It's only 26 miles from the Monterey Peninsula to the village of Big Sur, so it's not too much out of your way.

If you're up for some adventure, and possibly a bit scary ride, you could do the following: take US 101 north to Bradley, then Jolon Rd to Jolon, and then Nacimiento Rd to the coast. You'll be travelling through Fort Hunter Liggett, and they occasionally conduct war games there. But in the absence of that, there's generally no impediment to travel. And since presumably the Pfeiffer Canyon bridge will be repaired, there should be no construction traffic through there either. But if you have any fear of small, twisty roads through high hills, you should stick with your original plan. Anyway, once you get to the coast, you can take Highway 1 through the Big Sur coast, all the way to Monterey. Again, assuming the bridge replacement is complete.

Also, check road conditions for your trip to Yosemite. Last I checked, the highway 140 entrance was closed due to rock slides. It's not a big deal to take an alternative - either the south entrance via CA 41 or the more northerly of the west entrances at CA 120. But it's very helpful to know that in advance, so you can plan your route.

Bob

 

[bcla]

The area is somewhat open again, if you're willing to hike in.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/01/big-sur-island-open-to-the-public-again/