Way back in the winter of 2017 when California still had measurable rainfall—we remember—a pair of coastline-altering landslides effectively shut down the most scenic stretch of Highway 1, the state’s iconic oceanfront highway that winds its way through Big Sur.
As of today, though, all of Highway 1 has reopened. Caltrans announced that, at 9:45am on Wednesday, the road had reopened just south of Mud Creek, which allowed free-flowing traffic through the route for the first time since a massive landslide occurred there on May 20, 2017.
#Hwy1 at Mud Creek south of #BigSur is OPEN for business as of 9:45am! Safe travels, everyone. pic.twitter.com/hxX3AgQ1Dp
— Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) July 18, 2018
For anyone planning a midsummer road trip between L.A. and San Francisco, consider this incredible news. Last year around this time, Hearst Castle was open to the south, as well as the iconic Bixby Creek Bridge to the north, but a nearly 40-mile stretch with limited-to-no access meant that breathtaking spots like Nepenthe, the Henry Miller Memorial Library, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and McWay Falls were closed off to visitors. Though the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge reopened last fall, the Mud Creek closure meant following the coastal route was only possible via a harrowing inland fire road.
Some $54 million and a quarter-mile of new pavement later, the reconstruction project is nearly complete; though the route is open, lingering work may limit the road to one-way traffic at times. You can zip on through right now, or you can hold off until Friday at 11am for an official ribbon cutting celebration at the Ragged Point Inn.
In the meantime, take a look back at the under-construction landslide area last fall.
