Mother Nature Erases Large Portion Of Iconic CA Highway 1

BIG SUR, Calif. — The good news is, the state had closed that portion of Highway 1 to repair buckled pavement, the bad news is, their work just got a little bit harder as Mother Nature unleashed a massive landslide that covered a large area of road, even making its way into the Pacific Ocean.

The massive landslide is the latest natural disaster to hit a California community that relies heavily on the highway transporting tourists through the serene groves of redwoods, beaches and the dramatic oceanside scenery. Highway 1 runs between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The weekend slide in Big Sur buried a portion of Highway 1 under a 40-foot layer of rock and dirt and changed the coastline below to include what now looks like a rounded skirt hem, Susana Cruz, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Transportation, said Tuesday. More than 1 million tons of rock and dirt tumbled down a saturated slope in an area called Mud Creek. The slide is covering up about one-quarter of a mile (0.40-kilometer) stretch of Highway 1, and authorities have no estimate on when it might re-open. The area remains unstable. h/t msn

“We haven’t been able to go up there and assess. It’s still moving,” Cruz said. “We have geologists and engineers who are going to check it out this week to see how do we pick up the pieces.”

It’s the largest mudslide she knows of in the state’s history, she said. “It’s one of a kind,” Cruz said.

The narrow, windy Highway that runs through Big Sur is a major tourist draw to be sure.

But it’s also seems to be a favorite of Mother Nature.

(PHOTO AP)